Fresh start
by Rachelmasonfan25
Summary: Rachel and her family move up to Manchester and Rachel starts at Waterloo Road
1. Chapter 1

**Decided to start a new story. In this Rachel is married to Paul (not a character from Waterloo Road) and they have four children together. Charlotte (17), Thomas (14), Emily (12) and Poppy (10).**

Life inside the Mason household was extremely hectic at the moment, as in a few days' time the family were moving from Bedfordshire up to Manchester as Paul had got a new job. Paul was a surgeon, and previously had to commute into London every day. Even though, they knew it was a massive change for them all they hoped that it would work out in the end and their children would all be happy up there.

Charlotte was about to start her summer exams, so couldn't move up with them yet. She said she was more than happy to stay with Paul's sister, Karen, until her exams were over.

Although, she was a bit nervous about moving and leaving all of her friends she understood why they were going as did Thomas and Poppy really didn't mind. Emily on the other hand was still angry with her Mum and Dad for making them move.

Rachel had just got back from doing the school run.

"Mum can I go swimming tonight?" Emily asked

"I wanted you to help me do some packing tonight, everyone else is pretty much packed up now. Also Auntie Karen and Uncle Lee are coming over for a BBQ tonight"

"Why can't you just do it and I'll only be gone for a few hours"

"Because we don't need to take everything with us, so I want you to stay here to tell me stuff you don't mind getting rid of"

"Great so your making me move hours away from my friends and now you're not even letting me spend time with them for the few days we have left here"

"Come on Em, don't be like that. You had a sleepover with them all at the weekend and you're going out for a meal tomorrow with them before we leave"

"Well that makes it okay then, I'm not going to miss them anymore"

"Oh Emily. Right well how about you help me for a bit now, and then you can go swimming after that?"

"Fine" Emily said before storming off

Rachel got a snack for Emily.

"You go and get changed out of your uniform love, and then how about you play in the garden for a bit"

"Okay" Poppy said flashing her Mum her big grin

Poppy was such a sweet girl, however she was struggling with school a lot at the moment because she had dyspraxia. Rachel was hoping the move to Manchester would be a good thing, as they'd found a good primary school which specialised in Special Educational Needs.

Once Poppy was playing in the garden, Rachel made herself a cup of coffee before heading up to Emily's bedroom.

Rachel sighed when Emily was on her iPad and not packing.

"Come on love, the sooner we start the sooner you'll be done"

Emily didn't say anything so Rachel went over to her.

Rachel noticed Emily was going through some old photos of her and her friends, it wasn't until then that Rachel noticed that Emily was crying.

"Come here Ems" Rachel said sitting down on the bed and putting her arms around her daughter

"I know how hard this is for you love"

"Well why are you making me leave then?"

"Because it's the best thing to do for your family. I completely understand why you're upset at the moment, but I know that once you're settled in Manchester and you've made new friends you'll be just as happy there as you are here"

"What if I don't make new friends?"

"You will make new friends. Why would anyone not want to be friends with you?"

"But I don't need new friends, I've got the best friends ever here"

"And you can still keep in touch with them, as well as having new friends up in Manchester. Trust me love, it's all going to work out in the end"

"I am looking forward to living in the new house, I just wish it was around here and not in Manchester"

"I know you do, but it's a fresh start for all of us"

Emily did cheer up a bit and helped her Mum packing.

The two of them started talking about lots of things from when Emily was younger and they had a good laugh together.

Charlotte came into the bedroom and was pleased to see Emily laughing again. Her sister was normally moody all the time since finding out about the move.

"Mum, Dad's just got back from the supermarket so we're going to go for a quick drive"

"Okay love, not too long though because Auntie Karen's coming over at 5"

Charlotte was in the middle of learning to drive, and was desperate to pass her test.

"I think we've done a good job in here. I'll drop you to the pool now if you like"

"I think I might just stay here instead"

"Really?"

"Yeah, well I'm going to miss Auntie Karen and Ellie and Liv too"

Ellie and Liv were Karen and Lee's daughters'. Ellie was 16 and Liv was 13.

"That will be nice love, well do you want to give me a hand in the kitchen?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, but she liked helping her Mum out really.

The pair of them went downstairs. Thomas was playing with Poppy in the garden.

"Are you two okay out here?"

"Yes Mummy when's Auntie Karen coming?"

"They should be here anytime now"

"I've made a mud cake for her"

"I'm sure she'll be delighted" Rachel said laughing "we're just going to get some food ready for the BBQ"

When Rachel went back to the kitchen Emily had just let her Auntie and Uncle and cousins in.

Karen handed her a bottle of prosecco.

"Will you get some glasses out for me please Em?"

"How many?"

"Urmm do you want some Els?"

"Yes please"

"Didn't really need to ask did I? How about you two?" Rachel asked looking at Emily and Olivia who both shook their heads

"Lee?"

"No I'll have a beer instead please"

"Just three then, oh no actually four Charl will be back soon and she'll definitely want one"

Lee went into the garden and kicked a ball around with Thomas.

Emily went into the garden with her cousins and Karen and Rachel stayed in the kitchen to cook. Rachel got on really well with Paul's sister and was going to miss having them round all the time.

It wasn't long before Charlotte and Paul arrived back at the house.

"Ooh prosecco, can I have a glass" Charlotte asked as soon as she walked into the kitchen

"How did I know you'd want some? Em got a glass out for you"

"Can you get me a beer Charl please?" Paul asked

Charlotte passed her Dad a beer before pouring a glass of prosecco for herself.

"I better get the barby going then"

Once the food was prepared Karen and Rachel went into the garden too.

They had such a nice evening together with a lot of laughter.

Rachel was going to miss this so much and really did hope they were doing the right thing, by moving to Manchester.

Please review and let me know what you think xxx


	2. Chapter 2

The Mason family had moved into their house a few days ago. The house was amazing, and somewhere Rachel had only ever dreamed of living. They'd had a barn converted in the countryside.

It felt strange Charlotte not living there at the moment, but it wouldn't be long until she was.

The kids weren't starting at their new schools until next week, so that they could have the week to unpack and settle in.

Emily was still feeling quite upset about leaving Bedfordshire but Rachel was hoping she'd soon make friends when she started school and that would make her feel better.

Paul was at work so it was just Rachel and the kids at home.

They were pretty much all unpacked now, and had just had a lazy morning.

Poppy, Emily and Thomas were watching Paddington and Rachel had just finished unpacking the dishwasher.

"Right you three, do you fancy heading into town later to do a bit of shopping?"

"Yeah sounds good" Emily said

"Are you happy with that Poppy?"

"Yes thank you"

"Thomas?"

"Can I just stay here?"

"No I'd rather you came with us really, we can try and get you some new astros"

"Fine"

"Okay, we'll go after lunch. You need your hair washed today Poppy so shall we bath you now and then it's out of the way"

"Oh but I'm watching Paddington"

"We can pause it" Emily said

"Yeah and then you can watch the rest while I'm making lunch"

"Okay then"

Rachel and Poppy went upstairs to the bathroom.

Once the bath was ready Poppy got undressed and climbed in.

Even at 10, Poppy wasn't at all body-conscious. She was still happy to get changed or have a bath or shower in front of anyone.

Rachel let her have a play for a while.

"Poppy, there's something I want to talk to you about"

"What is it?"

"Well, about growing up. As you get older you change, and you're coming to an age now where you're starting to change from a little girl into a teenager. Do you know anything that changes?" Rachel asked and Ruby shook her head

"Well one of the big changes that happens is you develop breasts"

"What are breasts?"

"Boobies, I don't know if you've noticed but you've started to grow some boobies" Rachel said as Poppy was just starting to develop

"No I haven't"

"Well you have a little bit love, so soon you might need to start wearing a bra"

"No I don't need to"

"Well maybe not at the moment, but you might need to soon"

"I don't want to"

"There's nothing wrong with wearing one, I wear one and so do Charlotte and Emily"

"Mummy, can Lucy leopard come with us today?" Lucy leopard was Poppy's favourite cuddly toy

Rachel sighed, realising Poppy didn't want to talk about the changes that were happening to her.

"She can come in the car, but not in the shops because we don't want her to get lost again do we?"

"No, she was very scared last time we lost her at the park"

"Yes, so it's best she waits in the car"

Rachel got Poppy's hair washed and then got her out of the bath and wrapped a big, fluffy towel around her.

"Your clothes are out on your bed love. You go and get dressed and then come into my room and I'll dry your hair for you"

Rachel went into her room and quickly ran the straighteners through her hair.

Poppy soon appeared in her Mum's bedroom too.

"Oh come here love, let me sort you out" Rachel said as Poppy was looking a bit skewwhiff

Rachel took the towel off of Poppy's hair and brushed it before drying it.

"How do you want your hair today sweetheart?"

"Half up in a plait and the rest down"

"Coming right up"

Once Poppy's hair was done, the two of them went back downstairs and Rachel started making some lunch.

"Emily can we watch Paddington again now?"

"Yeah okay"

Rachel cooked some poached eggs on toast for everyone for lunch. It was a nice day so they sat in the garden to eat.

"Right let's get into town then shall we?" Rachel said to the kids

"I just need to go for a wee first"

"Okay, Poppy you go too love"

Just as Emily and Poppy walked off Rachel's phone started vibrating. She looked and saw it was Charlotte FaceTiming her.

"Hi Charlotte, how was your exam?" Rachel asked as she'd had a maths exam today

"I think it went okay, but it's kind of hard to tell"

"I'm sure you did, but you tried your best so that's all that matters. What are you up to this afternoon?"

"Revising for biology, I'll probably sit in the garden though"

"That will be nice if you can sit in the garden, we're about to head into town to do a bit of shopping"

"I wish I could go shopping, you could have waited until I'm up at the weekend"

"I don't know if we'll get chance at the weekend, might have to wait until another time"

Rachel and the kids spoke to Charlotte for a bit longer before getting ready to leave.

"Oh don't forget those bikinis we need to take back Em"

Rachel had bought some bikinis for Emily for summer but they didn't fit so needed to go back.

They got into the car and Rachel drove them into Manchester.

They all needed some new things for the summer.

After a couple of hours of shopping Poppy and Thomas were starting to get fed up so Rachel suggested going for coffee.

They headed to Costa and got some drinks and cakes.

"Right I just need to nip to Waterstone's, so do you three want to stay here?"

"Yeah okay" Thomas said

"What do you need in Waterstone's?"

"I want to get a few new books"

"Oh I want a new book to read, can I come too?" Emily asked

"Yeah okay, are you going to stay here with Thomas Poppy?"

"Yes I haven't finished my muffin yet"

"Okay, we won't be long"

Rachel and Emily headed to Waterstone's and both picked out a few new books.

"The main reason I wanted to come here is for a book for Poppy"

"Why didn't you get her to come choose it?"

"I don't know if you've noticed but Poppy's started to develop a little bit"

"Oh" Emily said her cheeks flushing a bit as she found talking about this sort of stuff with her Mum a little bit embarrassing "I did kind of notice when I bathed her the other day"

"Yeah well I tried to talk to her about it earlier, but she just said that it wasn't happening to her and changed the subject so I thought I could buy a book for us to read together it might help"

"Yeah maybe. How do you think she's going to cope with it all?"

"I think it will be a struggle. She might be starting to change physically now, but you know mentally she's still very immature. You haven't started your periods yet, so I'm hoping it will be a couple of years at least before she starts hers"

"Hopefully"

"But when it does come, she'll probably just need more support and more time getting used to it than most girls"

"Yeah I'm sure she'll be okay in the end"

Rachel and Emily had a look together for a book that they thought would be good. They found one so went and paid for everything before heading back to Costa.

Poppy was laughing loads with Thomas, Thomas really was very good with her.

"What are you two laughing at?"

"We've just been telling jokes, haven't we Poppy" Thomas said and Rachel smiled

"Is there anywhere else anyone wants to look or shall we head home?"

"Could I print off some photos Mum so I can finish decorating my room?"

"We'll do it online later, it will be cheaper"

"Okay"

They'd all had enough of shopping so decided to head home.

When they got back Emily and Poppy did some baking with Rachel and Thomas went on the Xbox.

"Your Dad just text me, he thought we could have a BBQ at the weekend and invite some of the people who live near us"

"That would be good, do you think there's any children?"

"Yeah I reckon so, you could go around with Dad later and invite them"

"Yeah okay"

The rest of the day went quickly and they were all happy to see Paul when he walked through the door.

Even though they hadn't been in there new house for long, they were starting to feel settled there.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Saturday and Karen and Lee had come up to stay for the weekend with Charlotte, Ellie and Olivia.

They'd just finished breakfast and Karen and Lee decided to go out for a quick walk around where they lived with Ellie and Olivia.

Thomas had discovered one of the families that lived near them had a 12 year old son so he was about to go and play some football with him.

Paul was setting up the BBQ so Rachel thought this was the perfect opportunity to get her three daughter's to herself for a bit.

"Girls can you come with me for a bit please?" Rachel said to the three of them who were sat at the outside table

"Why?" Charlotte asked

"You'll see in a minute"

Charlotte, Emily and Poppy all followed their Mum up to her bedroom.

"Come and sit on the bed" Rachel said

"I bought a book the other day that I thought we could read it together" Rachel said and Emily instantly knew what Rachel was talking about

Rachel was hoping that if Charlotte and Emily were there, Poppy might be more inclined to listen. She also hoped that it would encourage Poppy to speak to her sisters about the changes she was starting to go through.

Rachel was right, having Charlotte and Emily there too was making Poppy listen more.

"So do I need to wear a bra now?" Poppy asked

"Well I don't think you need to wear a bra yet, but I've bought you some crop tops that you can wear under your top everyday if you like" Rachel said getting them out of the drawer

"Shall I put one on now?" Poppy asked sounding a bit excited

"You can if you want to"

Poppy took off the top that she was wearing and put a crop top on before putting her top back on again.

Rachel was pleased with how their talk had gone, but decided not to go onto the section about periods for just now.

Charlotte decided to get on with some revision. She really didn't want to because it was such a sunny day but knew that she really did need to.

She sat at the table in the garden and started to do some revision.

They had two families coming over later for a BBQ. Rachel was kind of looking forward to it, but at the same time she did kind of just fancy a nice relaxed evening without having to entertain.

When Karen and Lee got back from their walk, Karen and Rachel headed to Tesco to get the food for the BBQ.

Ellie sat with Charlotte to do some revision, whilst Olivia, Emily and Poppy played a game of boules in the garden.

The day was passing quickly and Rachel was starting to panic because she hadn't prepared anything for the BBQ yet and they'd told everyone to come over at 3.

"Right who wants to give me a hand in the kitchen?" Rachel asked

"I will"

"Don't you need to be revising?"

"I've got quite a lot done today"

"Okay if you're sure"

Ellie and Olivia both helped Rachel in the kitchen, whilst Karen popped back to the shops as they'd forgotten to buy any beers for the men.

"What shall I do Mum?"

"There's not too much that needs doing really. We've just got sausages, burgers, chicken and I'm going to make some kebabs. So if you could chop some stuff for the kebabs love and can you make a salad Els?"

"Yeah sure"

Rachel got other stuff ready and after half an hour was starting to feel a bit more organised.

"Mum can we make some cocktails?"

"I was going to make a jug of Pimm's so do you want to do that?"

"Ooh yeah"

Rachel started taking some stuff outside and on her way back into the house she saw one of the families that lived near them about to come through their gate.

"Hiya, come on in" Rachel said going over to introduce herself

Rachel hadn't met them yet, only Paul had.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca"

"Rachel"

"Mark"

"And these are our three children, this is Daisy" Rebecca said touching her eldest daughter on the back who was 6

"This is Florence" Rebecca said referring to her middle daughter who was 3 "and baby Ivy"

"Wow, you must have your hands full, not that I can really say much the age gaps between my four children are similar to that"

"It's pretty crazy, but we love it"

"Hiya mate" Paul said coming over

Rachel took the five of them into the garden and introduced them to everyone else.

"Rachel the girls have been asking to do in the paddling pool all day, but we just ran out of time. Would you mind if we brought it over?"

"We've got one in the shed anyway, we'll fill that one up"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah of course, Poppy will love to go in anyway"

"Right I'll just pop back to get your swimming costumes girls"

"I'll go Bec"

Mark went back and got the swimsuits and Rachel got them all drinks.

It wasn't long before the other family arrived too. Lisa and Nick, who had a son Jack who was 12 and a daughter Gaby who was 14.

Everyone seemed to get on really well.

The older kids had a great time looking after the younger kids which Rebecca was very grateful for.

"Mummy, I'm thirsty" Daisy said coming over to Rebecca

"Okay, can you ask Rachel if you can have a drink then"

"Rachel please could I have a drink?" Daisy asked very politely

"Of course you can, come with me and we'll see what we've got"

Rachel had just got Daisy her drink when Paul came into the kitchen.

"Paul, I was just talking to Lisa and she knows someone who's got a springer that has just had babies and she's still got some left"

"Right"

I think we should buy one, think of how thrilled the kids would be"

"I know they would, we've said we'd love to but it just wouldn't work when we're both working all day"

"Yeah well that's the other thing Lisa was saying, apparently there's this house that's on route to Rochdale that does doggy day care. Lisa's dog goes there some days and apparently it's really good"

"I guess we could think about it then"

"They'd all be so excited, especially Poppy you know how much she'd love a dog"

"She sure would, we'll talk about it tomorrow"

"Yeah we'd better get back outside, some of the food should be ready in about 10 minutes"

"Okay, I'd better get the kids out of the paddling pool then, they're all having such a good time"

Rachel went and got a towel for Poppy as Mark had picked up towels for his girls and went and told them it was time to get out.

Rachel wrapped a towel around Poppy.

"Do you want to go inside to get changed girls?"

Rebecca went inside with Rachel and the kids so they could all get dressed.

Gaby came into the kitchen too.

"Where's the toilet?"

"There's one just through there" Rachel said pointing

"Daisy's in there" Rebecca pointed out

"Oh yeah, of course. If you go upstairs and turn left there's another one there"

"Thanks"

The food was soon ready so everyone tucked in.

Rachel suddenly noticed that Emily and Gaby were missing so went to find them.

She found them in Emily's room chatting.

"Hi girls sorry to interrupt" Rachel said smiling "but the food's ready"

"Okay we'll be down in a minute"

Rachel left, happy that Emily seemed to have made friends with Gaby because she knew how much she was missing her old friends.

They all ended up having a really good afternoon and evening together. Rachel, Paul and the kids all hoped there would be plenty more times like this.


	4. Chapter 4

Thomas, Emily and Poppy had been going to their new schools for a couple days now.

Rachel was only working part time, so hadn't been in yet. Today was her first day as an English teacher at Waterloo Road. Although she was looking forward to getting back to teaching, she was a bit nervous about starting at a new school.

Rachel was sat at her dressing table doing her makeup when Emily came in.

"Mum I've got PE today, where's my PE top?"

"I gave it to you when I gave you the rest of your PE stuff didn't I?"

"No I can't find it"

"Are you sure love, I'm sure I would have given it all to you at the same time after we bought it"

"I'm telling you it's not in my room"

"Right well I'll have a look for it in a minute now"

Emily had found the first couple of days at her new school a bit tough. Even though the girls had all been really nice to her, she had found it hard not having the close relationship she'd had with her old friends.

She was looking forward to going in a lot more today though because yesterday she'd met a really nice girl called Rosie who did gymnastics. Emily had done gymnastics since she was really young and had been looking for a new club to join, so was really happy when Rosie suggested she came to the same one as her.

Emily had gone to gymnastics last night and got on really well with Rosie. Now that she'd started to build a friendship, she was kind of looking forward to going into school today.

"Don't forget then"

"I won't" Rachel said, not that she didn't have enough things to be doing school mornings always were hectic

Once Rachel had done her makeup she went downstairs to sort breakfast.

Poppy was in her school uniform and sat on the sofa watching TV.

"What do you want for breakfast love?"

"Coco pops please"

"Okay love"

"Emily, Thomas are you coming down for breakfast" Rachel shouted up the stairs

Rachel got a bowl of coco pops for Poppy and got some yoghurt and fruit for herself. She really didn't enjoy eating breakfast, but always tried to eat something.

Thomas soon came down and got himself some toast.

"Em, hurry up you need to come and have breakfast"

After another five minutes Emily finally came down and put some bread some in the toaster.

"Right it's my first day at work today. So Poppy you're going to athletics after school and I'll pick you up when that finishes, and I'll be there to pick you two up from the bus stop as usual"

"I just want to come home after school Mummy"

"Why sweetheart? You were excited before about going to athletics"

"I've changed my mind"

"Well can you just try today and if you don't like it you don't have to go again. It would make it easier for Mummy because I'm working today so I probably won't be able to finish on time to pick you up"

"Okay Mummy"

"Thank you darling"

After breakfast luckily Rachel found Emily's PE top.

Once everyone was ready they left the house.

Rachel dropped Emily and Thomas off at the bus stop, before dropping Poppy off at the breakfast club at her Primary school even though she didn't want to have breakfast there and then drove to Waterloo Road.

She'd only been there once when she'd come for her interview so wasn't very familiar with the school yet.

She went to reception where she was met by the head of English, Tom.

Even though Rachel had only met Tom when she was being interviewed, she thought he seemed really nice and was looking forward to working with him.

Tom gave Rachel a quick tour and showed her to her classroom, that she was sharing with the other woman who was working part time before taking her to the staff room.

She got herself a cup of coffee just before Eddie Lawson, the head teacher, came into the staff room to make a few quick announcements.

"As you know, year 10, 11, 12 and 13 are off timetable today for the Enterprise Day" Eddie started

Rachel didn't know about this and had planned normal lessons. This seemed more exciting though, and she thought it might give her chance to get to know the students better.

Rachel had a fun morning with her pupils, the kids all seemed like a really good bunch.

At lunchtime Rachel went into the staff room to try and get to know the staff. Most seemed quite nice, even if a couple of them did seem a bit lazy in her opinion, especially Steph and Grantly.

After lunch it was time for the presentations from the Enterprise Day. The kids had come up with some really good ideas. Eddie was in Rachel's classroom watching the presentations too.

Suddenly a year 13 girl, Mika, stumbled into the classroom interrupting Brett's presentation.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?"

"How's this for your headline? Posh ego maniac screws girlfriends sister" Mika slurred "my sister's missing because of you, she could be dead"

Rachel went over to her and it didn't take her long to work out that Mika had been drinking.

Mika was being quite aggressive so Rachel went over and held her but all of a sudden Mika was sick all down Rachel.

Eddie went over and took Mika out. Rachel had been informed by Steph at lunchtime that Mika's sister was missing and about what had gone on between Chlo and Mika.

Rachel went and sorted herself out in the toilets. Luckily she was wearing a cardigan which she took off and then just put her blazer on over the top she was wearing. She wiped her top with a damp paper towel.

Rachel then went back to watch the end of their presentations. When the school bell went Rachel went to find Mika, as she was worried and wanted to make sure she was okay.

She went up to Eddie's office and saw Mika asleep on the sofa.

"Shall I wake her up? I just wanted to have a little word with her and tell her not to feel bad"

"Go ahead" Eddie said

Rachel went over and crouched down beside Mika and put her hand on her. Eddie left Rachel to it.

"Mika love can you here me?" Rachel said and Mika started to stir "what have you had to drink?"

"A bottle of vodka"

"You'll be alright my love" Rachel said before grabbing a pillow to put under Mika's head "might have a sore head in the morning but we've all been there"

"I'm so sorry" Mika said feeling bad

"Hey, chalk it up to experience, always feel better after being sick huh"

"I can't believe it"

"Hey you make a mistake, but you're going to get through. And guess what, Chlo's been found"

Relief flooded through Mika and Rachel was so happy to see the look on Mika's face.

She felt like she'd already made a connection with some of the kids and was already enjoying teaching at Waterloo Road.

Rachel stayed with Mika until Tom and Chlo were back before going to pick up Poppy from school. Poppy seemed pleased to see Rachel but said she'd had a good time at gymnastics.

Rachel then drove to the bus stop and got there about five minutes before Emily's bus got there.

Emily came and got into the car and noticed her Mum's top.

"What happened to your top?"

"Well, you probably won't believe it but a pupil was sick on me"

"Ew, that's so gross. Sounds like you've had a great day"

"I did actually, really enioyed it"

"Aw that's good"

"How was your day?"

"Yeah really good Rosie's been so nice to me and I've been with her and all of her friends today"

"That's good love, I'm glad"

After another five minutes Thomas's bus pulled in so they drove home, all ready for a chilled evening.


	5. Chapter 5

It was Friday and everyone was looking forward to half term.

Emily and Thomas had both settled into their new schools fairly well now after being there for a week. Poppy wasn't enjoying school very much, but she hadn't been for a while now. She'd been off school today because she was poorly, and it had turned out she had a water infection.

Luckily Paul had the day off to stay at home with her as Rachel was working.

Rachel had just come downstairs after putting Poppy to bed and realised that it was time to go and pick up Charlotte from the train station. Charlotte was coming home as it was half term.

"Right, I'd better get going to pick up Charlotte"

"Do you want me to go Rach?" Paul offered

"No I'll go" Rachel said. She was so excited to see her daughter so didn't want to have to wait any longer

Even though it had only been a week since Rachel had last seen her daughter, it had felt like ages and Rachel missed Charlotte not being at home so much. As did the others.

Rachel left to go and get Charlotte so Paul and the kids decided to put a film on.

Rachel had been gone for about half an hour when one of Paul's Mum rang up. Paul was always on the phone to his Mum for ages so Emily decided to go upstairs and change into her pyjamas and bring a blanket down.

When Emily got to the top of the stairs, she saw Poppy run out of the bathroom and into her bedroom so decided to go and check on her sister.

"Are you okay Poppy?"

"Yes" Poppy replied as she quickly pulled the quilt up on her bed

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"Nothing"

"You must have got up for something"

It was only then that Emily noticed that Poppy had a big wet patch on her pyjama bottoms.

"Oh have you had a little accident?"

"Yes" Poppy replied feeling embarrassed

"Do you want me to get Dad?"

"No I want Mummy"

"She's gone to get Charlotte, I'll get Dad"

"No" Poppy said starting to cry "I don't want you to"

"Hey it's okay" Emily said going over to her sister and wrapping her arms around her

"I won't get Dad, shall I help get you sorted?"

"Yes please"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen"

"I know you didn't. It doesn't matter anyway, I used to have accidents when I was younger too"

"Let's go and give you a little wash, it will make you feel a bit better"

Poppy and Emily went into the bathroom.

"Take your pyjama bottoms off and put them in the washing basket"

Poppy did as Emily said before running some water in the sink and giving Poppy a quick wash with a flannel

Emily grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Poppy, before the two of them went back into Poppy's bedroom.

Emily got a fresh pair of pyjamas out of Poppy's drawer for her before stripping Poppy's bed.

"I need to go and get fresh bedding for you, I won't be long" Emily said before grabbing Poppy's dirty sheet.

Paul heard Emily walking about upstairs so shouted up to her.

"Em, what are you doing? Are you coming back to watch the film?"

"Yeah sorry, Poppy's just woken up so I'm just sitting with her for a bit"

"Do you want me to come up?"

"No it's okay, I'll be back down in ten minutes"

"Okay darling"

Emily got some bedding out of the airing cupboard for Poppy before going back in and making up Poppy's bed.

"Okay, you can get back into bed now Poppy"

"Thank you Emily"

"It's no problem. And if it happens don't worry about it, you can come and find me again or Mum. But just make sure you tell someone"

"Okay"

"Are you going to go back to sleep now?"

"Yes"

"Do you need the loo first?"

"Yes I think so"

"Go on then"

Poppy went to the toilet before coming back into her room and jumping on the bed.

"You aren't going to tell Dad are you?"

"No course I won't if you don't want me to"

"Thank you"

"Back to sleep now, just come downstairs if you need anything. Night night"

"Goodnight"

Emily gave her sister a kiss before quickly going to put her pyjamas on and grab her blanket and then going back downstairs.

"Poppy okay?"

"Yeah she woke up but she's going back to sleep again now"

"Thanks for seeing to her Em"

"That's okay"

It wasn't long before Charlotte and Rachel came into the house.

They were all really glad to have Charlotte home.

Once the film finished Paul opened up a bottle of wine and they all sat in the lounge and talked for a while.

Rachel got up to go and get another bottle of wine and Emily followed her out.

"Mum"

"Yes love"

"Poppy had an accident when you were gone, I gave her a little wash and changed her sheets, the dirty stuff is in the washing basket in the bathroom"

"Oh thank you for doing that sweetheart, why didn't you get Dad to sort her out?"

"She didn't want Dad to know"

"Oh right, well done darling. Was Poppy okay?"

"She was a bit upset and embarrassed about it, but she seemed okay once I sorted her"

"Okay. Would you mind quickly going and getting the dirty stuff so I can put it in the wash whilst I get the wine?"

"Yeah sure"

Once it was all sorted Rachel and Emily went back into the lounge.

It had been a while since Rachel and Paul had had all of their children there and no-one else, which they were really enjoying.

They ended up staying up quite late talking.

"Wow look at the time. I think it's time for bed, especially you Miss Emily you're going to be very tired tomorrow"

"What are we doing tomorrow Mum?"

"Well we do have something planned actually, but you're just going to have to wait and see"

"What is it?" Charlotte asked who was now also intrigued

"It's a surprise, you'll find out in the morning"

"Why can't you just tell us now?"

"Because I want Poppy to be there when you find out too"

All three children went to bed wondering what the surprise could be.

On her way to bed, Rachel poked her head around Poppy's door and was surprised to see her youngest daughter lying there awake.

"What are you doing awake Missy?"

"I woke up again and I can't get back to sleep"

"Oh dear" Rachel said before coming into the room and perching on the bed next to her daughter

Rachel started stroking Poppy's hair

"Mummy"

"Yes love"

"I had an accident tonight"

"I know, Emily told me"

"Why did it happen? I haven't had one for ages" Poppy said as she was still feeling a bit embarrassed about it

"It was probably because you've got a water infection. They always make you need to go to the loo lots"

"So it happened because I was poorly?"

"Yes maybe. It really doesn't matter though sweetheart, these things happen sometimes"

Rachel sat with Poppy and it didn't take her long to fall asleep.

Rachel then went into her own bedroom.

"You took your time"

"Poppy was awake"

"Is she okay? Emily was up with her earlier"

"Yeah I think she's just struggling to sleep because of the water infection"

"Yeah I guess"

Rachel went into her en-suite and took her makeup off and brushed her teeth before climbing into bed next to her husband.

The following morning Rachel and Paul were woken up by Poppy climbing onto the bed in the middle of them.

"Morning darling, how are you feeling today?"

"A bit better than yesterday"

"That's good, because we've got a little surprise for you today?"

"What is it?"

"Well if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise"

"When will I find out?"

"When your brother are sisters are awake too"

"Can I go and wake them up?" Poppy asked excitedly

"Somehow I don't think your teenage brother or sisters would be very happy about being woken up at half past seven on a Saturday morning

"What time can I wake them?"

"If they still aren't awake at 9 o clock then you can"

Poppy stayed in bed with her Mum and Dad for a while before Rachel decided to jump in the shower.

Once she'd had a shower she came out of the en-suite with a towel on.

"Mummy am I going swimming today?"

"No I think it's best you give it a miss today, because you're poorly"

"Okay"

Rachel got dressed and put some makeup on before drying her hair.

She then took Poppy downstairs whilst Paul had a shower.

They hadn't been down for long when Charlotte came downstairs.

"Morning love"

"Morning"

Rachel made a cup of coffee for them both.

"Are you going swimming this morning Poppy?" Charlotte asked

"No I'm not going swimming today because I'm poorly"

"Oh yeah of course"

"Mummy please can I wake up Emily and Thomas now?"

It wasn't quite 9 yet but Poppy had been so excited all morning, so Rachel decided to let her.

"Go on then"

Poppy ran upstairs and woke them both up.

About five minutes later they were both downstairs.

"What's the surprise"

"Well" Rachel said before looking at Paul and they smiled at each other "me and your Dad thought we could get a dog"

"Really?" Poppy asked with a massive grin on her face

"Yep"

"What sort of dog?" Charlotte asked

"A springer spaniel, we're going to choose it today"

The four of them were all really excited. They'd been asking for a dog for ages, but had never been allowed.

Rachel and Paul had to admit they were both excited too.

Rachel cooked eggs and bacon for breakfast. They talked about the dog the whole way through breakfast.

"Does it matter if we get a boy or girl?" Emily asked

"We were thinking we should get a girl" Rachel told them "and then when it's a bit older we can let her have puppies"

"That would be so cool" Emily said

After breakfast they all went up to get ready to go and choose the dog.

Once everyone was ready they drove to the house.

The puppies were adorable and so tiny.

The three eldest children had agreed to let Poppy choose which one and Poppy immediately fell in love with one of the girl puppies.

They stayed for a while and when it was time to go no-one wanted to leave. They just wanted to take the puppy home with them now.

Eventually they did leave.

When they got home they started talking about names, and they decided to call it Bella.

"How long Bella can come home with us Mummy?" Poppy asked

"4 weeks sweetheart"

"That's so long"

"I'm sure it will come around before you know it"

 **Thank you for the idea Evapopefan56 xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**For the guest who reviewed, Poppy has dyspraxia which is a developmental disorder so her mental age is younger than 10 because of this.**

It was half term so Rachel and the kids were all off school and Paul wasn't on shift today either. It was a nice day so Rachel thought it would be nice to pack up a picnic and find somewhere nice to go for the day.

Paul had just got back from picking Emily up from her friend's house as she had been for a sleepover last night.

"Hi sweetheart, how was last night?"

"It was good"

"What did you do?"

"Just normal sleepover stuff"

Rachel realised that Emily wasn't in a very talkative mood.

"We're going to leave to go out soon"

"Where are we going?"

"We don't know yet. We're going to try and find somewhere nice and take a picnic"

"Can't we just stay at home today? Just in the garden and stuff"

"No it would be nice to get out somewhere, it's Dad's only day off this week"

"Well when are we leaving?"

"Probably not for at least another hour. Charl's only just got in the shower"

"Okay" Emily said before disappearing up to her bedroom, she really just wanted a day at home today

Rachel started making the picnic. Suddenly they heard Poppy screaming so Rachel and Paul immediately ran up to Poppy's bedroom.

Poppy was crying so much that there wasn't even any sound coming out of her mouth.

"Poppy, take some deep breaths for me" Rachel said trying to calm her daughter down

Eventually she calmed down a bit.

"What's happened love?" Paul asked

"A bee stung me"

"Where?" Rachel asked

"On my tummy, it flew up my top" Poppy cried as she had quite a flowy top on

Rachel lifted up her daughter's top and saw that the bee had left the sting in so realised they needed to get it out.

"Right love, can you just go and lie on your bed for me"

"Can I use your tweezers Rach to get it out?" Paul asked his wife

"Yeah sure, they should be in the top drawer of my dressing table"

Paul went to get the tweezers so Rachel sat with Poppy and tried to keep her calm

"It hurts Mummy"

"I know it does. Daddy's going to go get the sting out of you and then we'll put some ice on it, and I'll give you some calpol"

Paul returned and got it out and then Rachel went and got a wet flannel to wash around the sting.

"Do you want to lay up here or come downstairs?"

"Where are you going to be?"

"I'll be in the kitchen"

"Okay I'll lie on the sofa downstairs then"

"Okay love"

Rachel took Poppy downstairs and got her comfy on the sofa before going to get her a bag of frozen peas covered with a tea towel to put on the sting and some calpol.

"You stay there love, I'm just going to carry on making the picnic"

"I don't want to go outside for a picnic because there will be lots of bees"

"Hopefully there won't be too many, but if one comes near you, me or Dad will get it away from you"

Rachel then carried on making the picnic.

Charlotte had forgotten her straighteners so was on her way to Emily's room to borrow hers.

Emily had just had a shower so was only wearing her knickers whilst deciding what to wear.

Charlotte knocked on Emily's door but then just went in without waiting for a reply.

Emily was horrified that her sister had just walked in on her.

"Charlotte get out, I'm getting changed" Emily shouted

"Sorry" Charlotte replied before going back out and closing the door behind her

"What's the point of knocking if you're just going to come in anyway" Emily yelled

Rachel could hear the shouting from downstairs so came up to see what was going on.

"What on earth is going on up here?"

"I was going to ask Em to borrow her straighteners but when I went in she was in the middle of getting changed, she had a full on hissy fit at me"

"Right well you can use mine"

"I don't see what the issue is, I've seen her with no clothes on before she is my sister"

"Yeah well you were the same when you were Emily's age"

Rachel gave Emily a few minutes before knocking on her bedroom door.

"Em it's me, can I come in?"

"Okay"

Rachel went into Emily's bedroom.

"Are you going to be ready to go in about half an hour?"

"Yep"

"Anything you want me to pick up for the picnic?"

"I don't mind"

"Are you okay sweetheart, you haven't seemed very happy since you got back from your sleepover. You did have a nice time didn't you?"

"Yes I told you it was good, I'm just tired now"

Rachel sighed. She'd been really looking forward to spending a day out with her family, but she had a feeling that Emily was going to be in a bad mood all day.

Rachel went back downstairs where Paul was sat at the kitchen table.

"I've been having a look Rach and apparently there's this really nice hill that's about a fifteen minute drive, and the views look incredible. Do you fancy it?"

"Yeah that sounds good to me"

Rachel got the last few bits out for the picnic and then went to see Poppy.

"How's your tummy feeling now?"

"It still hurts a bit, but it's not as bad"

"Good, it's nearly time to go now so go and put your sandals on"

"Charlotte, Emily, Thomas time to go"

The three of them came down but Emily did not look happy.

"Cheer up Em, what's put you in such a bad mood today" Charlotte said to her sister

"Just leave me alone" Emily said before storming off outside

"Let her be for a bit Charlotte, hopefully if we just let her be in a mood for a bit without anyone bothering her then she'll come out of it"

"I hope so, she'll ruin the day for everyone otherwise"

"No she won't"

Over the last few weeks there had been quite a few occasions where Emily had been in really bad moods for no reason and Rachel thought she was probably starting to get a bit hormonal.

"Right let's go then" Rachel said "everyone in the car

Emily barely said a word for the whole journey but everyone else was chatting.

They parked the car and then headed up the hill.

"Mum I'm hungry can we eat now?" Thomas asked

"How did I know that would happen? Yeah let's put the picnic blanket down"

After they'd eaten Rachel made sure everyone had sun cream on as it was a really hot day.

They'd brought a kite with them so Paul and Poppy went to fly it.

"Shall we play Frisbee" Thomas suggested

"No I just want to sit and read my book for a bit" Charlotte said

"Just me and you then Em"

"No I don't want to"

"Don't be boring like Charlotte, you never like to just sit around for ages normally"

"I said I don't want to, why can't you just take no for an answer"

"Alright, keep your hair on. What's put you in such a bad mood today"

"Why does everyone keep going on at me today? I never even wanted to come in the first place"

"That's enough Thomas, Emily's just a bit tired after her sleepover last night I don't think she got much sleep"

"Fine I'll go and fly the kite with Dad and Poppy then"

Rachel thought she noticed tears starting to form in Emily's eyes but decided not to say anything.

Emily laid on her stomach on the picnic blanket to sunbathe for a bit. She really was very tired and actually did end up drifting off to sleep.

"Charlotte look" Rachel whispered "I think Emily's gone to sleep"

"Bless her, she really doesn't seem very happy today"

"I know, she must be really tired after last night. That and hormones"

"Why has she started her periods?"

"No, but I think they could be starting soon so just try and be a bit sensitive towards her yeah? You know what it's like"

"Yeah I will"

Rachel and Charlotte both sat their reading their books. It was such a peaceful place and they were all having a nice time.

Emily ended up sleeping for about an hour. Suddenly started to stir.

She sat up and cuddled into her Mum.

"Hey Ems, did you have a nice sleep?" Rachel asked and Emily nodded

Emily stayed cuddled into her Mum for five minutes.

"Mum, I need the loo"

"Okay, I'll come with you I think there were some toilets in the car park"

Emily and Rachel got up to go to the loo.

"Mum I'm sorry if I was in a mood this morning"

"You did seem a bit unhappy, I think you were tired after your sleepover"

"Everyone was just getting on my nerves and I don't know why"

"Sometimes you can just feel like that. You're getting to the age now where your hormones are a bit all over the place which can make you feel really grumpy or really upset all of a sudden"

"I'll try not to be like it again"

"You say that but it's more than likely that you will be. But when it does happen, the best thing is to just give yourself a bit of space and if someone says something that annoys you rather than retaliating, just walk away"

"Okay"

They walked into the toilets and they were pretty disgusting.

"Ew I don't want to go in here"

"I'm afraid there's not really much choice, unless you'd rather go in the bushes"

"I think I probably would"

Rachel and Emily both went to the loo and when they were washing their hands Charlotte and Poppy walked in.

"Poppy needs to go too. We tried shouting after you but you didn't hear"

"Oh sorry love"

"It doesn't matter, I could probably do with going anyway"

Once Charlotte and Poppy had been to the loo too they headed back to the boys.

They stayed until about 4 when everyone was starting to get a bit fed up.

"Who fancies going out for tea tonight?" Paul asked in the car on the way home

"Me" Ruby shouted

"Can we go to Nando's?" Emily asked "we haven't been there in ages"

"I actually had somewhere a bit nicer in mind. Someone at work told me about this new restaurant that his friend has opened. I had a quick look at the menu and it looks really good"

"That would be nice, I certainly don't feel like cooking tonight" Rachel said

"I'll ring up when we get home and see if I can get us a table, actually I'll do it now. Can you find the number for me Rach?"

Paul rang the restaurant and managed to get them a table.

When they got home the girls all went upstairs to get ready.

Emily laid on her bed scrolling through stuff on her phone for a while, but then realised she really needed to start getting ready. She decided to ask her sister if she could do it.

"Charlotte please will you do my makeup for me?"

"Yeah okay, I'll do it now if you like"

Emily loved it when Charlotte did her makeup, it always looked so much better than when she did it herself.

"Do you want to put your foundation on or shall I do that too?"

"Can you do my foundation too please?"

"Yeah sure"

Emily was really enjoying having Charlotte there for the week, she'd missed her not being around all the time.

"There you go, have a look and check you're happy" Charlotte said

Emily looked in the mirror.

"It looks really good, thanks Charl"

"Are you straightening your hair?"

"Yeah"

"You can do it in here if you like"

Emily went to get her straighteners and Charlotte finished doing her own makeup.

Charlotte then tried to decide what to wear.

She ended up trying on a few before managing to find one that she liked.

"Charlotte"

"yeah"

"No it doesn't matter actually"

"Go on, what was it you wanted to know?"

"I don't want to know anymore, it's fine"

"Please say, why don't you want to know anymore?"

"It's embarrassing"

"You don't need to be embarrassed in front of me, I'm your sister. I promise I won't laugh or tell anyone what you say"

Emily decided to ask her sister, as she did want to know because it was making her feel a bit worried.

"Well if it normal to get like white gooey stuff in your knickers"

"Yeah that's perfectly normal Ems"

"What does it mean?"

"It usually means that you're going to start your periods soon"

"What so I could start tonight?"

"Yeah maybe, or in a few weeks' time or maybe even a few months' time"

Emily was worried now and Charlotte could tell.

"Don't worry about it though, at least not until you do start. And when you do tell Mum, I was so worried when I started but Mum made me feel loads better"

"Okay"

"Or if you don't want to tell Mum, you can tell me but make sure you tell someone"

"I will"

Their conversation was interrupted by Rachel.

"Girls are you ready to?"

Emily still wasn't changed so quickly rushed back to her own bedroom to get changed.

Once they were all ready they left to go to the restaurant and had a really nice evening together.

 **Please review xxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

The end of the school day had come around and Charlotte was doing some homework in the sixth form common room waiting for her Mum to finish work.

Charlotte had finished her exams so was now near Manchester with the rest of the family. She was going to Waterloo Road now, as none of the other schools had been willing to take her in the middle of her A levels. Luckily Waterloo Road had agreed to.

Rachel was ready to leave work so went to the common room to find Charlotte.

"You ready to go love?"

"Yep" Charlotte said before packing away her stuff

"How was your day?"

"Yeah it was good, I've been invited to a party on Saturday"

Rachel was glad that Charlotte had settled in so well, she always had been a popular girl so it wasn't surprising really.

"Come on then, let's go and get Poppy. Let's hope she'd had a better day today"

"Hopefully, it's horrible how she hates going to school I've always loved school"

"I know"

Rachel went to pick up Poppy from the after school athletics club. They were there a bit early, however when they arrived Poppy wasn't joining in with the rest and was sat on the bank of the school field.

Rachel and Charlotte went over to her. As soon as she saw them she instantly stood up and tried to get them to leave as soon as possible.

"Come on Mummy let's go"

"Okay okay, what's the rush? How come you aren't joining in with everyone else?"

"I didn't want to"

"I want to go now" Poppy said taking hold of Rachel's hand and trying to drag her away

"Well hang on, I can't go without telling Mrs Queen you've left"

"Be quick"

Rachel went over and told the teacher who ran the athletics club and then the three of them left.

Poppy started to feel really scared when she suddenly noticed her teacher coming towards them.

Rachel smiled at Miss Jones, however she didn't have a very happy look on her face.

"Hi Rachel, do you have time for a chat now?"

"Yeah sure, what about?"

"Do you want to come into my classroom"

"I want to go home Mummy" Poppy said

"I told you we needed a chat before you went home with your Mum didn't I Poppy?"

Poppy ran off so Rachel went after her.

Rachel caught up with Poppy and wrapped her arms around Poppy.

"Hey don't cry darling, Miss Jones just wants a little word with me I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Are you going to come with me now to speak to her and then we can go home?"

"No I don't want to"

"Come on love, it won't be long"

"No you can't make me" Poppy said starting to cry more

"Okay okay, how about you go and sit in the car with Charlotte and I'll go and quickly speak to Miss Jones and then we'll go home"

"No I don't want you to"

"Well she wants to speak to me, so I can't just leave. What is it she wants to speak to me about?"

"I don't know"

"I think you do, but if you don't to tell me that's fine"

Rachel then called Charlotte over and got her to take Poppy to the car before going into speak with Miss Jones.

"Has Poppy got into some trouble again today?" Rachel asked "she seems ever so upset"

"I'm afraid so, she bit and hit another boy in the class today"

"Right, well that really doesn't sound like Poppy. Of course I'll have a chat with her about it tonight, but surely he must have done something to provoke her?"

"They were arguing a bit, but that really isn't an excuse for that sort of behaviour, it's not something we can tolerate at school"

"I understand that, and it really is completely out of character for Poppy"

"She's also been incredibly rude to her TA again today"

"I'm really sorry, I'll talk to her tonight and hopefully she'll be better tomorrow"

Rachel didn't think Miss Jones had finished talking with her but she didn't care, as she didn't want to be there for a second longer.

Rachel quickly left the classroom and went back to the car.

They'd had a lot of issues since Poppy had started at the school and none of the teachers had taken a liking to Poppy. Poppy had struggled at her old school too, but the teachers were a lot more understanding than the teachers at the new school.

When Rachel got back to the car Rachel could tell Poppy was really worried so didn't mention anything about it.

"When we get home Poppy, I was thinking we could pop out again because we need to get a few more bits for Bella. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes please"

They were picking the dog up at the weekend and everyone was really excited about it.

Rachel drove and got Emily and Thomas from the bus stop before driving home.

She made sure they were all okay before leaving to go out with Poppy. She'd explained to her other three children that she needed a bit of time with Poppy on her own and they all understood.

Rachel drove to Pets At Home and they picked up some dog food and some food and water bowls.

Poppy seemed like a completely girl to the one she'd picked up from school. She was back to her usual happy self.

"Shall we pop to Costa then before we head home?"

"Yes can I have a blueberry muffin Mummy? Because I really like those don't i?"

"I reckon you could"

Rachel got a coffee for herself and a muffin and drink for Poppy.

Rachel didn't really want to bring up the incident at school but knew she did need to.

"Poppy I spoke with Miss Jones earlier and I'm not going to tell you off because what she told me you did doesn't sound like you at all. But can you tell me why you hit the boy in your class love?"

"He was being horrible to me"

"How was he being horrible to you?"

"He was calling me names like he does every day and saying I was a baby and he said I was stupid because I'm not very good at maths and have to have someone to help me" Poppy said with tears forming in her eyes

"That's really not very nice of him, did you tell your teacher that's why you did it?"

"I tried but she wouldn't listen"

"The thing is though love, even though he made you feel upset and angry you can't go around hitting or biting people. So next time he does something, walk away and tell a teacher okay?"

"Okay Mummy"

"I'm going to speak to your teacher tomorrow because the things he was saying to you aren't acceptable. You might struggle a bit at school with learning sometimes, but that doesn't for one second mean that you are stupid sweetheart. Everyone is good at different things and enjoys different things so take no notice of him"

"Okay"

"We won't say anything more about it now, but please don't hit or bite anyone again because it is a naughty thing to do"

"Okay"

Rachel wondered if she should have told Poppy off more for what she had done, but she really didn't think it was her fault. Poppy was such a lovely girl when she was around her family and Rachel didn't understand how she was so different at school.

Once they'd finished they left Costa to head home.

"Mummy I need a wee"

"Can you wait until we get home, or do you need to go before we get in the car?"

"I can wait until we get home"

"Are you sure?"

"Actually can I go before we get in the car?"

"Yes of course, come on let's nip back to Costa"

Once Poppy had been to the loo they drove home.

When they got home Poppy sat at the table and did some colouring whilst Rachel started making tea.

After tea the kids put a film on however Poppy was really tired so Rachel took her up for an early night.

Rachel sat with her daughter until she fell asleep. She was glad she'd fallen asleep looking peaceful and not worried.

She was about to go back downstairs when she heard Charlotte shouting to her, so went into her daughter's bedroom.

"How come you're not watching the film anymore?"

"I am, I just came up to go to the loo"

"Oh right, what was it you wanted?"

"Is Poppy okay? What happened at school?"

"She got into trouble again, this time she hit and bit a boy in her class"

"No way would Poppy do something like that"

"Well according to her teacher, she did. That school is making her so unhappy and I hate sending her in everyday"

"It must be horrible for her"

"It is and I just don't know what to do to help her"

"At least she's still happy at home"

"Yeah I wish she was as happy at school as she is at home"

"Why don't you home school her?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, she struggles with socialising anyway with kids her own age so I hardly think that's going to help"

"I guess not"

The two of them chatted for a bit longer before going back down to watch the film. Rachel did a bit of marking before relaxing for the evening.

"I'm going to go up for a bath. Not too much longer and you need to go to bed Em"

"Okay Mum"

Rachel really enjoyed a nice long soak in the bath after a stressful day.

When she went back downstairs the three kids had Love Island on.

"Emily, Thomas what have I told you about watching this?"

Emily and Thomas looked at her looking sheepish.

"You let Charlotte watch it though"

"Charlotte is five years older than you, I'd still rather she didn't watch it though. The programme is really not appropriate for someone your age. Up to bed now, the pair of you"

"Fine" Emily said before going upstairs, Thomas did too

"I bet she'll just go up and watch it in bed Mum" Charlotte said

"It really isn't something I want her watching, it will set such a bad example for her"

Rachel ended up watching it most nights as Charlotte loved it.

"I'm sure she'd be fine, it's hardly going to make her want to go and sleep around is it?"

"I should certainly hope not at age 12, but I mean when she gets a bit older I don't want her thinking that it's normal to behave the way the girls all do on Love Island"

After about ten minutes Rachel went up to check on Emily.

She knocked on Emily's bedroom door.

"Yeah"

Rachel went in and Emily was in bed.

"You forgot to give me the letter to sign about your school trip love, do you want to get it for me now?"

"I can't get out of bed"

"Why not?"

"I haven't got any pyjama bottoms on"

"It's only me in here, it's nothing I haven't seen before" Rachel said laughing

"Fine"

Emily went and got the letter for Rachel.

"That will be a nice end of year trip won't it?" Rachel said reading the letter about going to a water park

"Yeah I can't wait, as long as the weather is good"

"Hopefully it will be"

Rachel signed the letter and Emily put it in her bed.

"Night love, hope you sleep well"

"Night Mum, love you lots"

"Love you too"

Rachel gave Emily a kiss before leaving her to go to sleep.

Emily left it a few minutes before grabbing her laptop and putting Love Island on as quietly as she could.

Rachel went and said goodnight to Thomas before going back down to join Charlotte.

They were both tired so went up to bed once Love Island had finished.

Once Rachel got into bed though, she just couldn't seem to sleep. She couldn't wait for her husband to get home from work. They really needed to sort something out for Poppy.

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	8. Chapter 8

It was a really hot sunny day, and Rachel and Paul both hadn't been at work so they'd just been to buy food to have a BBQ tonight.

They were running a bit late for picking Poppy up from school, so Paul dropped Rachel as close to the school gates as he could, before going to find a parking space.

Rachel rushed to the playground and waited outside of Poppy's classroom. As usual her teacher hadn't let them out on time, so luckily Poppy wasn't waiting for her.

When the classroom door eventually opened, Poppy was one of the first ones out.

"Hi love" Rachel said taking her book bag and packed lunch off her "did you have a good day at school?"

"No I hate school"

"Why was your day not good?"

"I just want to go"

"Come on then darling, we'll talk about it later"

Rachel walked out of school with Poppy. She hated seeing how upset school made her daughter everyday. She decided to not talk about school as it would only make Poppy more upset.

"So as it's a hot day me and Dad have just been to get the stuff to have a BBQ tonight"

"Can I go in the paddling pool too?"

"I don't see why not"

Once they got back to the car they drove to get Charlotte from Waterloo Road before driving to get Thomas and Emily from the bus stop.

When they got there Emily and Thomas were both already waiting. Rachel was surprised that Emily's friend wasn't there with her though as she was meant to be coming over after school.

It wasn't until Emily got closer that Rachel noticed her face looked a bit red and it looked as though she'd been crying.

She decided not to mention anything about it when Emily got in the car though because Rachel knew she wouldn't want a fuss made with everyone else in the car.

"Are you okay Em? You look as though you've been crying?" Charlotte asked

"No I haven't, I'm fine" Emily snapped

"Keep your knickers on, I was only checking you were okay"

"Well I'm fine, why do you always have to ask so many questions"

"I asked one question"

"That's enough girls"

Rachel sighed, Charlotte and Emily seemed to be bickering a lot more at the moment than they usually did.

"Where's Sophie Emily?" I thought she was coming for tea"

"She had to go home from school early because she was poorly"

"Oh that's a shame"

The rest of the journey home was a bit tense and they were all pleased when they pulled up on the drive.

As soon as they got in, they all rushed in to see Bella who they'd now picked up.

Poppy instantly looked so much happier than she'd done when Rachel picked her up from school.

"Right I think you should all go and get changed and then we can go outside and make the most of this weather"

Rachel unpacked Poppy's packed lunch, which she hadn't eaten very much of, before going up to check on Emily.

Emily had just taken off her bra and was about to put on her bikini top when Rachel pushed opened her bedroom door.

"Mum" Emily screamed grabbing her school blouse to cover her up

"Sorry love I didn't realise you were getting changed"

"Well that's what I came upstairs to do isn't it"

"Your bedroom door wasn't closed so I assumed you hadn't started yet"

"I must have forgotten to shut it, it was nearly though so you should have knocked"

"Sorry love, I won't look whilst you put your bikini top on promise"

Emily quickly put her bikini top on.

"What was it you wanted anyway?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay. You looked a bit upset when we picked you up"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me"

"Are you sure? It did look like you'd been crying"

"Yes I just said I'm fine didn't I?" Emily snapped

Emily sighed, realising she'd just snapped at her Mum again, something that was happening a lot at the moment.

"Sorry I didn't mean to snap" Emily said sitting on her bed tears starting to form in her eyes.

Rachel went and sat next to her.

"It's okay love, I was just a bit worried that's all. But if you say you're okay then that's fine, I'll say no more about it"

"Mum I lied about the reason Sophie isn't here for tea anymore"

"Okay do you want to tell me the real reason?"

"We kind of fell out at school today"

"What about?"

"Well it all seems so stupid now. We were talking about what we were going to wear at the weekend for the summer BBQ and Sophie said that I always copy what she wears and then we started arguing and it all got really stupid and I said I didn't want her to come to my house anymore"

"Oh dear. Well it's easy to say things you don't mean when someone says something to upset you"

"I did mean it, I don't want her to come here if she's just going to say horrible things like that. I never copy what she wears"

Rachel knew that Emily was at a really difficult age and was struggling with all the bitchiness.

"Maybe not at the moment, but I'm sure by tomorrow you'll be able to make up with Sophie because the two of you normally get on really well"

"I guess"

"So just forget about what she said, and if she still wants to carry on being horrible tomorrow then just ignore her"

"Okay"

"Mum" Charlotte suddenly shouted

"I'm in here" Rachel said so Charlotte came in

Charlotte noticed her sister had been crying.

"Oh sorry, you can come and find me when you're finished if you like" Charlotte said realising she'd interrupted a chat between the two of them

"It's okay, we're done now. What was it you wanted?"

"Well I was just wondering if I could go out for a bit with Harry?"

Harry was in Charlotte's year at school and the two of them had been out a few times together recently and seemed to be getting on really well.

"I was hoping we could all stay here together tonight, it would be nice if you stayed"

"Oh okay"

"How about you invite Harry over for the BBQ?"

"Well I guess I could"

"It would be nice to meet him, it sounds like you two get on really well"

"We do. Okay I'll ask him and see what he says"

"You've probably put him off meeting us by telling him awful stories about us all"

"No I haven't actually, you'd better not embarrass me though if he does come"

"I won't, don't worry"

Charlotte went to ring Harry so Rachel left Emily to finish getting changed.

Rachel went and rubbed some sun cream into Poppy and once Poppy had her swimsuit on the two of them went downstairs.

When they got out to the garden Paul was in the middle of filling up the paddling pool.

Emily soon cane down with her bikini on and a pretty summer dress on over the top of it.

"Mum can I go and see if Gaby wants to come over?"

"Yeah okay love"

Gaby lived close to them and Emily got on really well with her.

Emily went but then came back on her own.

"Was Gaby not there?"

"Yeah she was, she's just going to get changed and then come over"

"Have you got sun cream on love?"

"No not yet"

"Make sure you put some on, I'll do your back"

"Where is it?"

"I think I left some on the kitchen table"

Emily returned a few minutes later.

Emily took off her dress so Rachel could do her back. She then took the sun cream off Rachel so she could do the rest of her body. It wasn't long before Gaby turned up.

"Hi love"

"Hi Rachel"

"Do you want to put your stuff in my room Gaby?"

"Yes please"

The two girls went upstairs to Emily's room.

"Could you rub some sun cream in my back please Em?"

"Yeah sure"

Gaby took off the shorts and top she was wearing and Emily instantly felt jealous at her figure. Although Emily had started to develop quite a bit now, she wished she had a figure more like Gaby's as Gaby's chest was quite a bit bigger than Emily's.

"Gaby do my boobs look really small?"

"No they look good"

"But they're so much smaller than yours"

"Probably because you're two years younger than me" Gaby said laughing

"So you didn't have boobs like that when you were my age?"

"No mine have grown quite a bit recently, and J guess they're still growing"

"I wish mine would hurry up and grow"

"They will soon, but it really doesn't matter you still look good. You could always do what I used to do and stick some tissue or something down your bra"

"But I'm wearing a bikini, do you think people will notice?"

"I doubt it"

Emily grabbed some tissues and put them in her bikini.

Once the girls were sorted then went down and laid on some sun loungers.

Rachel was reading her book but when she looked up she noticed her daughter must have stuffed something in her bikini top as her chest looked considerably bigger than when she'd tried on her new bikini at the weekend.

She knew Emily would hate it if she mentioned anything in front of everyone but decided to speak to her daughter about it later. She really wished her daughter wasn't in such a hurry to grow up.

Charlotte came downstairs with a fresh face of makeup on.

"Is Harry coming then?" Rachel asked. She guessed he was, otherwise Charlotte wouldn't have redone her makeup.

"Yeah he should be here soon"

"Is he your boyfriend?" Poppy asked

"No he's not"

"Really are you sure about that?" Rachel said

"Well I guess we are really close and spend a lot of time together, but not officially"

"Are you going to kiss him?" Poppy said laughing

"No and definitely not if you're watching" Charlotte said going over to the paddling pool where Poppy was and tickling her

Harry soon turned up and came and sat in the garden with everyone.

Rachel had seen him at school but she didn't teach him, after chatting with him for a bit he seemed really nice.

They all had a lovely relaxing evening and a nice BBQ.

The kids all seemed really happy which was making Rachel happy.

It was a school night so Rachel knew she needed to get Poppy to bed.

"Right Poppy, time for you to go to bed you've got school tomorrow love"

"I don't feel very well Mummy"

"You seem fine to me"

"I've only just started not feeling very well"

"I've got a tummy ache"

"I'm sure you'll be fine after a good nights sleep"

"I think I'll be too poorly for school tomorrow"

"Well we'll see about that in the morning, let's get you up to bed love"

This was a regular occurrence. Poppy was always saying she felt poorly so she could get out of going to school.

Rachel felt bad making her go when it made her so unhappy, but she didn't really have a choice.

Rachel went up and put Poppy to bed before coming back down.

"Mum I think I'm going to go to bed too, I'm not feeling that good"

"In what way?"

"I just feel really tired and a bit sick"

"Okay, I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight"

Charlotte and Harry had gone for a walk, and Thomas was inside playing on the Xbox so it was just Rachel and Paul.

Rachel cuddled into Paul, her mind couldn't stop thinking about Poppy. She needed to do something, she couldn't keep sending her daughter somewhere that was making her so unhappy.

After a while Rachel went up to say goodnight to Emily, who was already lying down in bed.

"How are you feeling love?"

"Really sick"

"You might have a bit of heat stroke, have you got any water up here?"

"No"

"I'll go and get you some, you need to make sure you drink plenty"

Rachel returned with a glass of water and sat down on the bed next to Emily.

"Did you have a good time tonight with Gaby?"

"Yeah it was really good"

"I'm glad the two of you get on so well"

"Yeah she's really nice"

"I did notice earlier though that you'd given yourself a bit of a boob job"

"Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't notice"

"Why did you do it?"

"Gaby looked so good in her bikini and I just look really flat chested next to her"

"You look really good in your bikini too, without stuffing tissue down it, you've got a lovely slender figure"

"I want bigger boobs though"

"Yours are growing, trust me having big boobs really isn't such an amazing thing"

"All the boys like big boobs though"

"I know they do, but you'll realise when you're older that no matter what size your boobs are you're always going to wish they were a different size, bigger or smaller. But you should just be happy with the size you have. You're starting to develop a lovely little figure now, you really are starting to fill out"

"I guess so. Mum I really don't feel well"

Suddenly Emily darted out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.

Rachel followed her in and found her being sick so went over and held her hair back and rubbed her back.

"Do you feel better now?" Rachel asked once Emily had finished being sick

"A bit better"

"It's probably from sitting in the sun without wearing a hat like I told you to"

"I didn't want to wear a hat, they're annoying"

"Well you should have sat in the shade for a bit then"

Rachel took Emily back to bed.

"Make sure you keep drinking plenty"

"But then I'll keep having to get up to go to the loo"

"That doesn't matter, you need to drink plenty because you're dehydrated"

"Okay I will"

Rachel said goodnight to Emily before going back downstairs.

Charlotte was sat in the garden with her Dad and Harry was just about to leave.

"He seems really nice love" Rachel said once Harry had gone

"Yeah I really like him, he asked me to be his girlfriend when we went on the walk" Charlotte said with slightly blushed cheeks

"Aw how sweet" Rachel said

The three of them chatted for a while. It was nice for Charlotte to have her parents to herself for a while, that didn't happen very often.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a school morning and Emily had woken up feeling really groggy with a bit of a tummy ache. She knew she really needed to get up, but the last thing she wanted to do was go to school today. She really didn't feel like it.

Rachel was shocked when she went into Emily's room and found her still in bed scrolling through Instagram.

"For gods sake Em, what are you still doing in bed? I told you to get up fifteen minutes ago"

"I don't feel very well"

"I'm sure you'll be fine once you're up"

"Just five more minutes"

"I'm not arguing with you again Emily, up now"

Emily sighed before dragging herself out of bed.

This surprised Rachel. Emily's attitude has been awful all week so Rachel had been expecting her to kick off again.

"Thank you darling, make sure you're quick because you're running late now"

Emily started to get ready but her stomach began to hurt even more. It was sports day at Emily's school today so she knew Rachel wouldn't let her have the day off as she would think she was just trying to get out of that.

Emily decided to just take some paracetamol and hope that would help.

Once Rachel had got Emily out of bed she went downstairs to fetch Poppy who was watching TV on the sofa as she needed to get dressed too.

"Poppy, time to get dressed now love"

"I can't go to school today"

"Why not?"

"I'm poorly"

Rachel sighed, she'd had this every morning this week

Rachel went and sat next to her daughter.

"I don't think you really are poorly, are you darling?"

"Yes I am"

"What's wrong?"

"I have a headache and a tummy ache and I feel sick and all achy and hot"

Rachel put her hand to Poppy's forehead.

"Wow, that's quite a collection of things wrong. You don't feel hot to me" Rachel said still not believing her for one second

"I might be sick if I go to school"

"Well hopefully not, I need you to try and go to school today"

"I can't Mummy"

"Why not?"

"I'm poorly"

"Just try and go in please. Come on, let's go and get you dressed"

"No"

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you"

"You can't make me"

"I'm your Mum, yes I can"

Poppy refuses to go anywhere.

Rachel went upstairs and picked up Poppy's uniform that she'd already laid out for her and brought it down.

"Put them on" Rachel said firmly

"No"

"Poppy, I'm not telling you again"

Poppy took off her pyjama top and shorts and put on her pants and crop top.

"I'm not putting on my uniform, get me my normal clothes"

Rachel was seeing a completely different side to Poppy, she was seeing the side that her teachers always described her as.

"You can't go to school in normal clothes, you need to put your uniform on"

Thomas came down the stairs and was a bit shocked by all of this.

"Sorry Thomas, go and help yourself to breakfast"

"Thomas is down here now, you need to put some clothes on"

"I don't care if Thomas sees me with no clothes on"

"Oh Poppy, I really don't have time for this"

Rachel forcefully tried to put Poppy's summer dress on and did eventually manage it.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry"

"Well you need to eat, go and sit at the table and I'll get you some cereal"

Emily and Charlotte were soon down for breakfast too. They soon realised Poppy was in a bad mood.

Thomas, Charlotte and Emily all tried to cheer Poppy up but nothing was working.

When it was time to leave Rachel had another battle trying to get Poppy out to the car.

She was kicking and screaming and it took Rachel and Thomas to get her into her seat.

Rachel felt awful, she was clearly dreading going to school if she was kicking up this much of a fuss.

Rachel dropped Emily and Thomas off at the bus stop before driving to Waterloo Road.

"How come you're dropping me off first Mum?" Charlotte asked as Rachel was working today so normally they dropped Poppy off and then drove to Waterloo Road

"I need a word with Poppy's teacher. I'm not teaching first period so I'll ring in and tell them I'm going to be a bit late"

"Okay, hope you have a good day"

"Thanks, you too love"

Once Charlotte was out of the car Rachel drove to Poppy's school.

Poppy had calmed down a lot from kicking and screaming but when Rachel opened the back door to let Poppy out she started crying uncontrollably.

"Calm down for me sweetheart, just take some deep breaths. Come on copy Mummy, in and out, in and out"

Rachel didn't know what to do, she was at her wits end.

Eventually Poppy did calm down although she still had tears running down her face.

"I feel sick"

"Okay quickly out of the car"

Rachel got her out of the car just in time for her to be sick all over the road.

Rachel rubbed her back. She couldn't believe Poppy was in such a state over having to go to school.

Rachel grabbed a water bottle from the car and tried to wash the sick down a bit.

"Right Poppy, let's go into your school and get you cleaned up a little bit. And then if you really don't want to stay after we talk to your teacher, then I'm not going to make you stay okay?"

"Okay"

"Hang on a second, let me get a tissue to wipe your nose"

Rachel quickly grabbed a tissue and found a tissue so she could sort out Poppy's nose.

Once Poppy was sorted Rachel took hold of her hand and they walked into school.

By now, school had already started so they had to go to reception.

The lady on reception let Rachel take Poppy to the toilets so she could freshen her up a bit.

When they got back to reception Poppy's teacher was waiting for them along with Sophie, a girl who had been in their class for work experience that week.

"Poppy do you want to go with Sophie for a bit while I talk to your Mum?"

"Do I have to go in the classroom?"

"No you don't"

"Okay then"

Poppy had taken an instance liking to Sophie and Sophie was really good with Poppy.

"I can't stay for long because I've left a TA taking the class but I think we need to talk about Poppy"

"Yes, she's so unhappy coming into school everyday and I just don't know what to do"

"I can see why she's unhappy, as you know she does get teased a lot. But the way she reacts to it, it just can't be tolerated"

"I understand that, it just feels like Poppy is always the one who is punished yet she wouldn't be behaving like it if it wasn't for the kids teasing her. It seems like she's always the one in the wrong"

"I don't think you understand just how badly she behaves at school"

"I do believe what you tell me, it's just at home Poppy is such a sweet, caring girl"

Rachel was starting to loose her cool now, she really wished the teachers at this school were more willing to help Poppy. They just saw her as a problem.

"Look, we all want what's best for Poppy so do you think it's best if we consider the other options?"

"What other options?"

"Homeschooling or looking into a SEN school"

Rachel and Paul had been and looked around a SEN school that wasn't too far from them and had been really impressed by it, not that they'd told Poppy's teacher this.

"Well yes I think we may have to look into those options, because I can't keep sending Poppy here everyday when she's so unhappy"

"I can help you and see what we can come up with"

"No, it's okay we can sort it"

"I really must be getting going now, I need to get to work"

"Yes I need to go back too"

"I promised Poppy she didn't have to stay at school today unless she really didn't want to. Is there anything you can do to make her want to stay?"

"Well Sophie has been really good with Poppy all week and Poppy seems to really like her, so maybe I can suggest Sophie does activities with Poppy outside of the classroom today?"

"I'm sure that would make Poppy a lot happier"

"Obviously it's only a one day thing though, Sophie is only here until tomorrow and she does want experience in the classroom"

"Yes of course"

Rachel stayed to see if Poppy was happy to stay at school if this was the case. She was so Rachel left feeling a lot happier than she had when they'd walked into school. She knew she needed to speak to Paul tonight about putting in an application for Poppy at the SEN school.

Rachel rushed to school ready to prepare for her lesson.

The school day passed quickly. Rachel got out of school as quickly as she could as she'd promised the kids they could go to a really nice spot along a river that they'd found. The weather was really nice so Rachel was really looking forward to relaxing with the kids for a bit.

Charlotte and Poppy went to pick up Poppy, who seemed to have had a really good day with Sophie.

"I like Sophie Mummy, we did some maths and I found it really hard but she helped me loads and then she gave me a sticker because she said I'd done so well"

Rachel was so pleased to hear that Poppy had a good day at school for once. It was the way her other kids had always been after most days at school.

They picked up Thomas and Emily before driving to the river.

The older 3 had changed into their swimming stuff and own clothes at school

Rachel parked up and they all got out of the car.

"Right, let's go then" Rachel said once they'd got everything out of the car

They went and sat down by the river and Rachel got out some towels and snacks. She then helped Poppy to get changed into her swimsuit.

Emily was being quite quiet and Rachel picked up on this.

"You okay Em, you seem a bit quiet?"

"Yeah I'm okay"

"Mummy please can we go swimming now?"

"I don't know if I fancy it, I'll watch you though"

"I'll go in with you Poppy" Thomas said

"Yeah and me" Charlotte added

"How about you Ems? Do you want to go in?"

"No I think I'll just sit in the sun for a bit"

They took their clothes off and headed to the river where there were already lots of kids splashing around.

"Are you sure you're okay sweetheart?" Rachel asked feeling a bit concerned about Emily

"Yeah I have a sore stomach though and it's making me feel a bit rubbish"

"Oh love how long have you had that for?"

"Since this morning, well I woke up a few times in the night and it was sore too"

"You should have said before. I've got some paracetamol in my bag, do you want some?"

"Yes please"

Rachel searched through her bag and found some.

"There you go love, wonder what's causing that then"

Emily and Rachel both sat and read their books for a bit, although Rachel was paying more attention to her children in the water than her book.

They stayed in the water for quite a while but started to get a bit cold so decided to get out.

Emily's stomach was really hurting and she realised her bikini bottoms were feeling all weird, wet and a bit sticky.

"I need the toilet"

"I need to go too, I'll go with you Em" Charlotte said

Emily felt awful, all she really wanted to do was go home and get into bed.

They went into the toilets and when Emily pulled down her bikini bottoms she realised they were covered in blood.

Emily's eyes immediately started to fill with tears, she felt so scared and really didn't want this to be happening.

She didn't realise how long she'd been in there for until Charlotte started shouting to her.

"Em are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm coming out now"

Emily didn't know what to do, she just really wanted her Mum. She put some toilet roll in her bikini bottoms before unlocking the cubicle door and coming out.

Charlotte noticed her sister's tear stained face and red eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah but please will you get Mum for me?"

"Yeah I will, why do you want her?"

"I just do, I'm not feeling very well"

"Okay I'll go get her"

Charlotte went back to get Rachel.

"Mum, Emily's in the toilet she said she wants you"

"Okay, what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, I think she might have an upset stomach or something"

"Okay thanks love"

Rachel picked up her bag before heading to the toilets.

Emily was so relieved when she saw her Mum and instantly wrapped her arms around her and burst into a fresh flood of tears.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"I think I've started my period" Emily cried

"Oh love I bet that was a bit of a shock wasn't it huh?"

"I don't like it Mum, I don't want it to start yet"

"Well I'm afraid it has and there's not really anything you can do to stop it. I know it seems horrible just now, but you will get used to it I promise you. They're never nice, but you do learn to deal with it. It won't seem so bad in a few months time once you've had a few"

"My tummy hurts so much"

"We won't be staying much longer. So when you get home you can have a nice bath if you like and I can fill a hot water bottle. Not that that's really what you want now, in this nice weather but it will hopefully help"

"Okay. What should I do now?"

"I've brought my bag with me because I had a feeling you wanted me because of this so I've got a pad you can put on"

"How did you guess?"

"Well your moods have been all over the place recently, especially this last week or so and then you said you had a stomach ache so I just thought it all added up"

"I suppose it does"

Rachel found a lad in her bag and gave it to Emily.

"Do you know how to put it on?"

Emily nodded.

"Okay, you'll probably need to change it every few hours or so"

Emily went into the cubicle and sorted herself out and then came out and washed her hands.

She was still feeling a bit shaken up but felt a lot better after speaking to Rachel about it.

Rachel was so glad she'd told her straight away. When Charlotte had first started she didn't tell Rachel straight away and Rachel ended up finding out without Charlotte telling her.

They left the toilets and headed back to the rest.

"You were gone ages" Poppy said when they got back

"Emily's feeling a bit poorly"

"What's wrong with her?"

Emily started to panic worrying that her Mum was going to tell them, she started to go a bit red.

"Just a tummy ache, nothing to worry about sweetheart"

Emily was so relieved, she was so embarrassed about the whole thing and didn't want anyone else to know.

They packed up all of their stuff and headed back to the house.

As they pulled into the drive, Paul was just getting out of his car after work. They were all really pleased to see him.

They went inside and Rachel wanted to do something quick and easy for tea so decided on a pasta dish.

Charlotte gave Rachel a hand with the tea whilst the others went outside.

"Is Emily okay Mum?"

"Yeah, she's started her periods"

"Oh well that explains a lot"

"It certainly does"

Once tea was ready they all sat in the garden to eat it.

It was a lovely evening and they were all really enjoying the sun.

"Mum how long is it until we go on holiday now?" Poppy asked

"Two weeks on Sunday darling"

"So in two weeks it will be the summer holidays?"

"It certainly will"

"Yay I can't wait"

Once Poppy was settled and in bed Rachel and Paul decided to go for a walk.

Rachel told him all about Poppy, and they'd been discussing it for a while but they decided to put in an application for Poppy at the SEN school.

They'd tried a mainstream school and it just wasn't working for Poppy, she was so unhappy. Her mental age was so much younger than her classmates and it was really starting to show now. Now they just needed to hope that she actually got in, otherwise they didn't know what they were going to do.

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	10. Chapter 10

It was a Saturday and the family were enjoying a lazy Saturday morning.

It was just Rachel and Emily sat in the garden.

"How are you feeling today Ems?"

"I'm okay thank you"

"Is your tummy feeling better today?"

"Yeah loads better than it was yesterday and on Thursday, but it is still a bit sore"

After starting her periods, Emily was finding it quite difficult to get use to. It had made her really emotional.

"I know you didn't want me to tell Dad, but he's getting a bit worried about you. It is something he'd like to know really"

"Why does he need to know? It doesn't make any difference to him"

"But he's your Dad, so of course he's going to want to know about something like this"

"I don't see why he would, but I suppose you can tell him if you have to"

"I won't if you don't want me to, I'm sure he'll figure it out for himself sooner or later anyway"

"You can tell him if he does want to know, I just didn't think he'd be bothered and it will be embarrassing him knowing"

"No it won't, I'll make sure he doesn't mention anything about it to you"

"Okay then"

They were soon joined by Poppy.

"Mummy can we go to the zoo today?"

"Don't you think it's a bit hot for that? I was thinking we could have a day in the garden, and go in the paddling pool and stuff. Rebecca might come round for a bit with Daisy, Florence and Amy"

Despite the age difference, Poppy and Daisy got on really well.

"Yay can we put up the bouncy castle too?"

"I reckon we can"

The morning passed quickly and it was soon lunchtime.

"I need to go into town this afternoon Em because I want something new to wear to my party tonight. Do you fancy coming?"

Emily wasn't her usual self so Charlotte wanted to try and cheer her up a little bit.

"Yeah okay"

"What you're going to drive in?" Rachel asked a bit surprised

Charlotte had passed her test a few weeks ago.

"Yeah I drove in with Dad last week and it was fine"

"Oh okay, that will be nice. You don't want my company then?"

"You've got Rebecca and Mark coming over though"

"True, nothing too short for tonight though you, I know what you're like"

"Of course not"

After lunch Emily and Charlotte both went upstairs to get ready.

"We won't be too long Mum, because I've got to come back and get ready for the party"

"Okay make sure you text me when you get there, and before you leave"

"We will"

Just as Emily and Charlotte were about to leave Rebecca and Mark turned up with their children.

Emily and Charlotte ended up staying for another 10 minutes and then Mark and Paul headed outside with the kids.

"Right I guess we should get going Em"

"Okay"

Rachel was in the middle of pouring a glass of prosecco for her and Rebecca but quickly came over to have a quiet word with Emily.

"Have you got pads in your bag Em? Rachel asked just wanting to check

"Yes" Emily said her cheeks burning red, she really hoped Rebecca hadn't heard

"Okay have a good time girls"

The girls left and Rebecca and Rachel headed into the garden with their prosecco.

"I can't believe how quickly Ivy is growing up now" Rachel said

"I know, she likes to go in the paddling pool now too like her big sisters"

The children were all in their swimsuits waiting for the paddling pool to be blown up. Poppy suddenly came over to Rachel whilst taking off her swimsuit.

"What are you doing love?" Rachel asked

Even though Poppy had started developing, she wasn't self-conscious at all. Rachel was trying to teach her that she couldn't just take her clothes off wherever now, but Poppy was just not bothered by it at all.

"I don't like this swimsuit, it's uncomfortable"

"Okay, let's go inside and get you changed then"

Rachel took her upstairs to her bedroom.

"Remember what we said sweetheart, if there are other people around and you need to get changed you need to go somewhere a bit more private"

"You said it was okay if we're at home though"

"But not if we have people over"

"Oh"

"Anyway it doesn't matter, pick another swimsuit"

"I want to wear a bikini like Daisy"

"Okay love, that's fine"

Poppy got changed and then they went back to the garden.

The paddling pool was ready so Poppy joined Daisy and Florence in it.

Rachel sat back and relaxed and watched the girls play whilst chatting to Rebecca.

In town, Emily was starting to feel a lot happier especially after having a chat with Charlotte. Charlotte had found a new dress that she wanted to wear tonight and Emily had bought a few new things for their holiday.

"I want to get some new underwear, shall we go to Boux Avenue?" Charlotte said

"Okay"

Charlotte picked up some new underwear.

"Do you need any Em?"

"Urmm do you think Mum would let me get a thong?"

"No I don't think she'd be too happy if you came home with one, why do you want one?"

"Well you wear them"

"Yeah I know but I'm older than you"

"How old were you when you were allowed to wear one?"

"I think I was about fourteen" Charlotte said before finding some other nice knickers for Emily "how about these"

"Oh yeah I like them"

Once they'd both found everything they wanted they went and paid.

"Can we go to the toilet Charl?"

"Yeah I need to go too, and then are you happy to head home?"

"Yeah that's fine with me"

The girls went to the toilet before driving home.

Rebecca and Mark were still there when they got back and they'd all decided to have a BBQ.

Charlotte would have loved to have been there, as she loved chatting with Rebecca and Rachel. She was really looking forward to her party though and wanted to start getting ready.

"I'm going to go and have a shower and start getting ready for tonight"

"Okay love, what time are you going?"

"Probably about 7"

"And Harry's still picking you up?"

"Yeah"

"Good, because we've all had too much to drink to drive now. Make sure you come back down for some food though, you can't go drinking on an empty stomach"

"I will, don't worry"

Charlotte went upstairs to get ready. Emily showed Rachel and Rebecca what she had bought today before going to put it away. She then came back and joined them outside.

Emily played with Ivy and Florrie for ages. Poppy and Daisy were playing a game together and the men were doing the BBQ.

When the food was ready Charlotte came down for a bit to eat but then went back upstairs to get ready. She was so excited about her party tonight.

She did her makeup and curled her hair and then put on her new dress. Once Charlotte was ready she went and had a drink in the garden.

"Wow Charlotte you look gorgeous" Rachel said

"I wish I still had a figure like you" Rebecca said

It wasn't long before Harry arrived so Charlotte went inside and picked up the alcohol that Rachel had bought for her for tonight and then she left with Harry.

Her friend had a really nice house and everyone was out in the garden.

Charlotte started drinking straight away and it didn't take long for her to be feeling tipsy.

She was trying to take it a bit easy as she was starting to get a bit of a reputation for being a lightweight. Once she started drinking though, she was having such a good time and didn't really care.

Charlotte had made so many good friends at Waterloo Road and felt like she had been friends with them for so much longer than she had.

It was getting quite late and Harry and Charlotte were all over each other. Charlotte took hold of Harry's hand and lead him upstairs. They found an empty bedroom and went into it.

Things got quite passionate between the two of them. Charlotte really wanted to go all of the way. She was still a virgin at the moment, but most of her friends had lost their virginity so she wanted to as well.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asked

"Yes I need you"

Harry had had lots to drink too and didn't take much persuasion. It wasn't long before Harry was inside of Charlotte.

When it was over Charlotte felt quite weird, she didn't know how she felt. It had certainly sobered her up a bit and now she wanted to go home.

"Are you okay Charlotte?" Harry asked as she didn't seem too happy

"Yeah I'm fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes positive. I want to go home now"

"I thought we were staying the night"

"I've changed my mind. I have leftover money that Mum gave me when I went shopping so I'll use it for a taxi"

"I'll come with you"

"No it's fine, you stay"

"I don't want you going in a taxi on your own"

"I'll be fine, if you get a taxi to mine you'd only have to leave again"

Rachel probably would have let him stay in the spare room but Charlotte didn't want him to come with her.

Charlotte was a very stubborn girl and there was nothing Harry could say to make her change her mind.

Harry made sure she got into the taxi safely and that the taxi driver knew her address and then Charlotte went home.

When Charlotte got home she was quite wobbly so staggered into the house.

Bella started barking as soon as she went in through the front door, even though she was trying to be quiet, which woke up Rachel who came downstairs.

"What are you doing back? I thought you were staying overnight"

"I changed my mind, just want to sleep in my own bed"

"Oh right, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, really tired so I'm going to go up to bed now" Charlotte said slurring her words a bit

Charlotte was quite drunk so it didn't take her long to drop off to sleep once she was in bed.

Charlotte woke up the next morning and instantly remembered what had happened last night. She felt really bad about it now, she hadn't want to loose her virginity whilst drunk.

She didn't regret losing it to Harry but she did regret losing it at a party. They had talked about it quite a lot before the party and had decided they were both ready, they'd just been waiting to find a time when they could have an empty house.

Charlotte hasn't taken her makeup off from last night and was still in her dress so changed into some pyjamas and then went into her ensuite to take her makeup off.

Once she'd washed her face she sat on the loo. She started crying, she was really sore and was feeling really bad about last night.

When she went back to her bedroom she noticed her knickers on the floor from last night had blood on them. This made her cry even more.

She quickly picked up her clothes before climbing back into bed.

Charlotte didn't know what to do with herself, she couldn't face going down to see anyone. She kind of wanted to tell her Mum, but thought she'd be really disappointed in her so decided she should just keep it to herself.

When she checked her phone she had some messages and a couple of missed calls from Harry but she didn't feel like talking to him yet.

It was getting quite late in the morning so Rachel decided to go and talk to Charlotte.

Rachel knocked on Charlotte's bedroom door. When she got no reply she walked in anyway.

Charlotte turned away and pretended to be asleep.

Rachel went over and could tell straight away that Charlotte had been crying.

"You're not asleep, are you love?" Rachel said as she could tell her daughter was awake

Charlotte sighed, before sitting up in bed.

"What's wrong love?"

"Nothing, I'm okay. Just tired after last night"

"You're crying because you're tired? Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"I'm sure"

"Are you hungover?"

"Kind of, but I'm fine stop worrying"

"I know there's something up love. Did you get too drunk at the party last night?"

There had been a few instances where Charlotte had ended up in tears the next day after a party and getting too drunk.

"No I didn't drink that much"

"Did something happen between you and Harry?"

Charlotte thought for a moment before nodding, maybe she did want to tell her Mum.

"Did you have a falling out"

"No but we had sex" Charlotte whispered

Rachel only just made out what she said. She instantly wrapped her arms around Charlotte.

Charlotte immediately relaxed into her Mum's embrace, she couldn't believe she wasn't cross.

"How do you feel now?"

"I don't really know how I feel. I regret doing it last night but I think I was ready. Aren't you cross?"

"I'm not cross darling, you are 17. I wish you'd talked to me about it if you thought you were ready"

"I know, I'm sorry. I can't believe I lost my virginity at a party in someone else's bed" Charlotte said before bursting into tears

"I know it seems horrible now. The thing is I think all girls imagine losing their virginity to be this very special thing. But quite often, girls lose it and do end up regretting it afterwards. I'm sure for a few days you are going to be feeling really emotional about it all, but you will be okay"

"I guess"

"Having sex for the first time is never the best anyway, I can tell you from experience that it certainly does get better"

"Okay Mum I don't need to hear about your sex life thank you"

"Okay, it's probably best if we get you on the pill. You did use contraception last night didn't you?"

Charlotte's face suddenly dropped as she shook her dead.

"Oh Charlotte, how many times have we talked about safe sex?" Rachel said to her daughter

"I'm sorry, it just didn't cross my mind last night" Charlotte said with tears rolling down her face

"Right, well you're going to have to take the morning after pill"

"No Mum please don't make me it will be so embarrassing, I'm sure I won't be pregnant"

"How can you be sure?"

"Well it's just unlikely"

"It only taken one time to get pregnant Charlotte and if you weren't sensible enough to use protection I'm afraid you're going to have to face the embarrassment"

"Where will we go?"

"We'll go to Boots"

"What are you going to tell everyone else that we're doing? You're not going to tell them are you?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something"

Charlotte was so pleased that she had told her Mum, she wouldn't want to be going through all of this alone.

"I'm really sorry Mum"

"You don't need to be sorry, making mistakes is all part of growing up. The important thing is that you learn from it"

Charlotte nodded before giving her Mum another big cuddle.

"Right, you go and jump in the shower because I'm sure that will make you feel better and as soon as you're ready we'll go into town"

Charlotte had a shower and washed her hair. Once she was out she sent Harry a quick text saying she would talk to him properly later, but she was okay. She could tell Harry was feeling really bad.

Once Charlotte was ready she went downstairs.

"Do you want some breakfast love?" Rachel asked

"No I'm not hungry"

"Someone a bit hungover?" Paul said smiling

"A little bit"

"You should eat, it will help"

"No I really don't want to just now"

"Right well me and Charlotte are going to nip to Boots and pick up some holiday stuff"

"Can I come Mum?" Emily asked

"No you stay here love, I thought you were going round to Gaby's"

"I'll just go later"

"Can I have a quick word outside Em?"

"Em you know how sometimes you need some time just me and you, well Charlotte is feeling like that today so do you mind staying here for me?"

"Okay, what's wrong with Charlotte?"

"Nothing really I think she just needs some time with me"

"Okay"

Emily could tell there was something going on, but she knew if Charlotte had asked her not to say anything then Rachel wouldn't.

Charlotte and Rachel headed into town. Charlotte was feeling really nervous.

"You're not going to make me say what I need, are you Mum?"

"No but if you do it again young lady, then you will be saying it yourself"

"Okay"

They parked the car and headed straight to Boots.

They went over to the pharmacy.

"Hi, my daughter needs the morning after pill"

"Okay, take a seat and someone will be with you in about 10 minutes. What's your name?"

"Charlotte"

Rachel and Charlotte took a seat. Charlotte hated this, she felt so sick.

Finally a woman came over and said her name.

Rachel and Charlotte both stood up.

"Hi my name's Wendy, let's go in here" Wendy said before leading them into one of the consultancy rooms.

Charlotte nervously sat down.

"Right, I just need to ask you some questions and then I'll give you the pill to take"

"Thank you"

"How old are you?"

"17"

"When did you have intercourses?"

"Urmm, late last night"

"Did your contraception fail or were you not using any?"

"I didn't use any"

The lady was really nice but Charlotte was still feeling e-mail.

"Okay Charlotte, when was your last period?"

"Probably about 2 weeks ago"

"Okay, that does mean the the risk of pregnancy is quite high because of the point that you're at in your cycle"

Wendy asked a few more questions.

"Right so I'll give you the pill to take now. If your next period is late, then you will need to do a pregnancy test"

"Okay"

Charlotte swallowed the pill. This was not how she imagined her Sunday morning would turn out.

"Make sure you use contraception, it would be a good idea to go and speak to your GP about it"

"Okay, thank you"

Once they were done Rachel and Charlotte walked out.

"I never want to do that again"

"Well make sure you don't get yourself into a situation like this again then"

"I won't, don't worry"

"Let's forget about it for now though"

They went and picked up some stuff they needed for their holiday next week, as they did need to do that anyway. They then went to a cafe as Charlotte was hungry now so wanted something to eat. Once they'd finished they headed home for another chilled day.

Please review xxxx


	11. Chapter 11

Charlotte was a lot happier now, and didn't regret what she'd done so much. She'd talked it through with Harry and the two of them still had a good relationship.

The Mason family were all excited as they were going on holiday tonight. They were off to stay in a villa in Majorca for two weeks with Karen and Lee and the kids.

Their flight wasn't until the evening so they were doing the last things to make sure they were ready.

Rachel was in her room when Poppy came in.

"Mummy is it time to go yet?"

"No not yet darling, we're not going until about 3 so we need to have lunch first"'

"So how many hours?" Poppy asked as she was so excited

"About 5"

"That's so long"

"It will go quickly, why don't you go and have a look in your plane bag and see if there's anything else you want to add"

"Okay then"

Just as Poppy left, Charlotte came in.

"Hi love, do you think you've got everything?"

"Yeah I think so"

"Mum I've worked it out that I'm going to take my last pill on the Wednesday of the last week we are in Majorca, so does that mean I'll get my period while we're there?" Charlotte asked as she had gone on the pill last week

"Yeah quite possibly love, so I'd pack a box of tampax"

"I hate being on my period when we're on holiday"

"Well Em could end up being on hers while we're away too and so could I, the joys of being a woman huh. You know you can stop yourself having a period by starting a new pack as soon as your current one finishes"

"I know, but I want to get used to taking it first and know what to expect. How long is it normally after you take the last pill before your period starts"

"Well it's different for everyone, but when I used to take it I took my last pill on a Tuesday evening and then came on either late Friday night or early Saturday morning"

"Oh right"

They were in the middle of talking when Emily came in.

"What are you talking about?"

"Periods love. It's been a couple of week since yours now Em so you could come on while we're away"

"I know I was thinking about that, I really hope I don't it would be so annoying"

"Well hopefully not, but I've packed some pads for you just in case so just come and let me know"

"Okay I will"

Once Rachel was sure she'd packed everything she went and checked on the girls suitcases.

She couldn't think of anything else they needed, but Rachel felt like she was forgetting stuff like she always did before they went over the holiday.

They were all ready to go and everyone was getting fed up of waiting around. Karen and Lee were due to arrive soon which made it even worse, they were flying from Stansted rather than Manchester airport.

In the end they decided to just get going and go out for a late lunch somewhere on the way to the airport.

The kids were all thrilled about this.

"Right everyone make sure you've got everything, go to the loo and bring your hand luggage out to the car" Rachel said to the kids "do you want to start putting the suitcases in the boot Paul?"

"I will do"

Rachel went to double check she had everyone's boarding passes before bringing some stuff out to the car.

Once they were sure they had everything they went and had some lunch at a Wagamama before heading to the airport.

They got rid of all of their luggage before going through security and having a mooch around the airport.

They were sat in the departure lounge waiting for their gate to be announced.

"Mummy I have a tummy ache?" Poppy said

"Oh do you love, when did that start?"

"Not very long ago but it really hurts"

Rachel leant in a bit closer and whispered "do you think you need to go to the toilet?"

Poppy nodded her head.

"Me and Poppy are just nipping to the loo"'

Rachel and Poppy went to the toilets and both went.

"Does it feel any better now?" Rachel asked once Poppy was out

"No it still feels sore"

"You can try and have a sleep on the plane and hopefully that will help?"

"How long before we're getting on the plane?"

"Not long now hopefully"

They went back to their seats and a few minutes later their gate was announced so they headed to it.

Once their plane was in the air Poppy tried to go to sleep leaning on Rachel but she started feeling sick.

"Mummy I still don't feel very well"

"Keep trying to sleep, and we'll be there before you know it"

"I feel sick though"

"Do you think you might actually be sick?"

"I'm not sure"

About an hour had passed and Poppy was feeling even worse.

Poppy suddenly sat up straight.

"I'm going to be sick"

Rachel grabbed a bag as quickly as she could, just in time for Poppy to start being sick.

Rachel rubbed her back and tried to soothe her. Once she'd stopped being sick, the air hostess thankfully took the bag off Rachel and Rachel took Poppy to the toilet who was crying.

Rachel cleaned her up a bit.

"Do you think you're going to be sick anymore?"

"I'm not sure"

"Okay well if you think you are tell me and we'll try and go to the toilet" Rachel said

By the time they landed Poppy still wasn't feeling very well but luckily wasn't sick again.

Everyone was getting tired by this point and just wanted to be at the villa.

They waited for their suitcases and once they had all of them went to pick up the car they were hiring for the time they were there.

After an hour in the car they arrived at their villa.

Karen, Lee and the girls were sat at the outside table. They were so glad to have finally arrived.

They looked around the villa and put their stuff in their rooms. They'd had it sorted for ages that Charlotte was sharing a room with Ellie, Olivia and Emily were sharing and so were Poppy and Thomas.

Rachel put Poppy straight to bed, hoping that she'd be feeling better by the morning.

Once Poppy was asleep Rachel went down and had a drink with everyone but no-one stayed up much later as they were all tired. They were all so happy to be there and couldn't wait for the next 2 weeks in the sun.


	12. Chapter 12

After a day of travelling and a late night, they all had a nice lie in on the first day of their holiday. Even Poppy slept until 9 which was unlike her. Luckily when she woke up she was feeling lots better and wasn't feeling sick anymore.

Of course, as soon as she woke up Poppy was desperate to go straight in the pool. The other girls were all still asleep, but Thomas said he would go in with them.

Rachel made a coffee for her and Paul before going and sitting on a sun lounger and watching Poppy and Thomas in the swimming pool.

It wasn't long before Charlotte and Ellie came down, there was still no sign of Karen and Lee or Emily and Olivia though.

"Morning girls, do you fancy a swim before breakfast"

"No I think I'll just sit and watch at the minute" Ellie said

"Yeah me too" Charlotte said

"Okay, make sure you both put sun cream on then. Don't want either of you burning on the first day"

"We've already got some on actually"

"Promise me?"

"Yeah I promise, I want to get a tan but I don't want to burn"

"Okay good girls"

Rachel started getting some stuff ready for breakfast. Karen and Lee had done a big shop when they'd arrived yesterday so luckily Rachel hadn't had to go shopping.

Karen and Lee soon came downstairs so they all sat outside and had breakfast together.

"What does everyone fancy doing today?"

"Can we go to the beach?" Charlotte asked

They all wanted a relaxing day so decided to go to the beach for a bit and then come back to the villa to eat that night.

After breakfast they packed up beach stuff and headed to the beach.

As soon as they got there they all went straight in the sea.

The kids all looked so happy. Rachel and Paul were really happy too.

The adults didn't stay in the sea for as long as the kids so Rachel took the opportunity to start reading a book.

Her peace didn't last long though because Poppy soon followed her out.

"Mummy I need the toilet"

"Why don't you just go in the sea, save having to walk to the toilets"

"No I don't want to"

"Okay come on then let's go"

Rachel and Poppy put flip flops on before walking to the toilets.

When they got back it was just Emily and Olivia that were still in the sea.

After a couple of hours on the beach they were starting to get hungry so wandered over to a beach bar and had some lunch.

After lunch they spent a bit longer on the beach before deciding to head back to the villa.

"I think me and Paul might stay down for a bit and have a few drinks" Lee said

"Oh right okay, how are you going to get back?"

"Well we were hoping one of you two could pick us up, if not we'll get a taxi back"

"Yeah I don't mind picking you up" Rachel offered

Rachel wasn't at all bothered by the men wanting to stay down for a bit. Karen on the other hand did seem bothered, but didn't make a fuss out of it.

Rachel and Karen went back to the villa with the kids.

Ellie went upstairs to their room so Charlotte followed her up. Her cousin had seemed really quiet all day and not her usual self.

"You okay Els?" Charlotte asked

"Yeah why?"

"You just seem a bit quiet, not yourself"

"I'm fine,I've been looking forward to this for ages it's so nice to finally be here"

"Yeah it is isn't it. Right I'm going outside, not going to get a tan if we're inside. You coming?"

"I'll be out in a bit, I need to cool down a bit first"

"Go in the pool"

"I will, I might just have a nap first"

"Okay"

There was definitely something up with Ellie but Charlotte didn't want to ask too many questions, Ellie clearly didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her"

Charlotte went down and had a quick swim in the pool before lying on a sun lounger next to her Mum.

"Hey love, are you having a good time?"

"Yeah it's so nice being here, I feel like I've been on the go for so long what with exams and everything, so it's nice to be able to relax for a bit"

"I know the feeling"

"Mum do you think Ellie is okay?"

"She has seemed a bit quiet today but she's probably just tired or something"

"Yeah maybe"

Charlotte was about to say she felt there was more to it than just being tired but Karen came back outside so she didn't.

Ellie stayed upstairs for about half an hour before coming down. She went straight in the pool with Poppy and Thomas. The others were all sat on sun loungers and reading books.

"Right I think it's time for a gin and tonic, who wants one?" Rachel asked

"It's definitely time for a G and T" Karen said

"I'll have one please Mum?"

"Els do you want one?"

"Urmm yes please"

Rachel went in and made gin and tonics and got some soft drinks for the kids.

They sat down and had a nice drink together, but the men still weren't back.

Ellie and Charlotte were both fed up of wearing sun cream so decided to go up for showers.

"Els I forgot to tell you, I snuck a bottle of vodka in my suitcase. Shall we open it tonight?"

"I don't feel like it tonight, you can have some though"

"No I'll wait until you want some too. You can go in the shower first if you want, I'm going to FaceTime Harry"'

"Okay, thanks"

Ellie definitely didn't seem herself and Charlotte was determined to find out what.

Once the girls were both dressed they went back downstairs and had another drink with Rachel and Karen.

After another hour Paul and Lee returned home. It was obvious straight away that they'd both had too much to drink.

Rachel and Karen had everything ready for tea so they all sat down to eat.

The men were talking rubbish and kept repeating themselves.

After they'd eaten Karen started clearing the plates away.

"You know what, I've had enough of this. Why don't you just go to bed Lee. You could have gone out and had a few beers and come back here so we could all have a nice evening together still. But you had to drink too much so it's best you just go to bed" Karen said before storming inside

"Fine, if that's what you want" Lee shouted after her before standing up from the table and going up to bed.

Rachel noticed Ellie trying so hard to fight back her tears. All of a sudden Ellie left the table and went up to her bedroom. Charlotte went to go after her but Rachel stopped her.

"Just give her a bit of space love"

Paul wasn't as bad as Lee so gave Rachel a hand clearing up but then he went up to bed too.

"Rach do you mind if I go out for a walk? I really need to clear my head"'

"Of course not, do you want me to come with you?"

"No I just need some time to myself, thank you though"

Karen left so Rachel went to check on the kids. They all seemed a bit quiet after what happened at the table so Rachel suggested they played a game.

Rachel then went to check on Ellie as she still hadn't come back down.

When Rachel got up to her room, she found her on her bed crying.

"Oh sweetheart" Rachel said before going over and sitting on the bed pulling her into her chest so she could have a good cry

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get upset"

"Hey you never need to apologise for crying and getting upset. If that's how you're feeling then it's good to have a cry. Are you upset because of Mum and Dad?"

Ellie nodded.

"Which makes me think that this isn't the first time they've argued recently"

"No it's not" Ellie cried

"You don't need to worry though, all couples argue sometimes"

"But they seem to be loads at the minute and I hate it. Do you think they'll end up getting a divorce?"

"I'm sure they won't love. I know that your Mum and Dad love each other so much and that's going to be the last thing they both want"

"But it does happen though doesn't it, lots of people in my year have parents that aren't together anymore"

"You're right and if it does happen then it will seem horrible at the time but you'll soon get used to it. But I don't want you worrying sweetheart. Just have a good holiday and let Mum and Dad worry about their problems"

"But it's so hard"

"I know, but worrying won't change anything"

"I suppose"

Rachel gave her niece a tight squeeze just as Charlotte walked in.

"Sorry I was just coming to put my phone on charge, I'll go back downstairs" Charlotte said when she noticed her cousin crying

"No it's okay love, why don't you come and sit with Liv for a bit"

"Are you okay Liv?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit worried about Mum and Dad"

Charlotte and Olivia were really close and told each other most things so Rachel left the two of them to talk.

When Karen got back Rachel had a long chat with her about her problems with Lee. Karen got really upset but felt better for talking to Rachel. Once she'd composed herself she realised she needed to speak to Olivia, as she had no idea her daughter had been worried about it.

Olivia felt a lot better after sharing her worries with her Auntie and Mum.

The others had gone to bed, so it was just Rachel, Karen, Charlotte and Liv downstairs. Rachel got a bottle of wine and poured them all a glass.

Charlotte and Olivia ended up having a really nice time with Rachel and Karen. They both got on really well with their Mum and Auntie.


	13. Chapter 13

A week of their holiday had passed and everyone was having a really good time. Karen and Lee had talked a lot and seemed to be getting on much better now.

It was Poppy's Birthday and she had requested a trip to see the dolphins and was very excited about it.

They had breakfast and set off early for the day.

As soon as they arrived Poppy wanted to go straight to see a dolphin show.

They'd been waiting about ten minutes and there was another five minutes to go before it started. Rachel noticed that Poppy was starting to fidget around in her seat which usually meant that she had to go to the toilet.

"Do you need the loo love?" Rachel said quietly to Poppy

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure Mummy"

"Okay well make sure you tell me if you do need to go"

"Actually I do need to go" Poppy said suddenly

Rachel took Poppy to the loo quickly as she was actually desperate, and they luckily just got there in time. They then went back to their seats ready for the start of the dolphin show.

Poppy loved it so much and didn't stop grinning through the whole thing. It made Rachel so pleased to see Poppy so happy.

After the dolphin show they went over to the swimming pools and all the slides and found some sun loungers.

The kids all wanted to head straight to the slides but Rachel and Karen made sure they had sun cream on first.

"Aren't you coming Liv?" Emily asked as Olivia was sat on a sun lounger looking really fed up

"No I can'"

"Why not?"

"I forgot my bikini bottoms"

"Why didn't you put your bikini on under your clothes?" Karen asked

"I just thought it would be more comfortable to not and change when I got here"

Karen was a bit confused by this as her daughter would normally much rather wear her bikini under her clothes than get changed anywhere but knew it was best not to make anything more of it.

"That's a shame, guess you'll just have to sit here and talk to us then"

"Great fun" Olivia said giving a sarcastic smile

The kids were all getting ready to head to the slides.

"Right make sure you stay with someone Poppy, no going off on your own okay"

"Okay Mummy"

Poppy went off happily with her brother and sisters and cousin.

Olivia sat there on her phone as luckily there was wifi, while the adults chatted. About an hour passed and none of the kids had come back yet.

"I'm surprised the kids aren't complaining they're hungry yet" Rachel said after looking at her watch and realising the time

"I'm sure they'll be back as soon as they're hungry" Paul said

"Think I might go and get a beer, anyone else fancy a drink?" Lee asked

Karen and Lee went and got some drinks for the adults. Just after they left Charlotte and Poppy came over

"Hi girls, are you having a good time?" Rachel asked

"The best time Mummy" Poppy said with a massive smile

"I want to show you the slide I just went down"

"I'll come and see, and maybe if it's not too big I could go down too"

"It might be too scary for you Daddy"

"See if anyone wants lunch whilst you're there"

"Okay"

Poppy and Charlotte went off with their Dad.

"Are you okay love?" Rachel asked her niece as she wasn't her usual self

"Yeah I'm fine, just wish I could go with everyone else"

"It is a bit rubbish, we won't stay until too late don't worry"

"I'm just going to go to the loo"

"Okay sweetheart"

Olivia stood up, but when she did she felt absolutely horrified as she was on her period and realised she'd leaked onto her towel so there was a massive patch of blood on it.

She immediately sat back down again.

"Aren't you going to the loo love?"

"I don't think I need to go actually" Olivia said but then she burst into tears. She couldn't help it, she was feeling so emotional at the moment

Rachel stood up and went and sat by her to give her a cuddle.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"Nothing, I'm fine"

"Well usually when someone cries it means that something's wrong, not that they're fine. Come on, you can tell me what's wrong"

"I don't even know why I'm crying about it"

"Just tell me what's wrong Liv, so I can help you"

"I'm on my period but it's gone all on my towel which means it must be on my shorts too so everyone will know"

"Oh love" Rachel said stroking Olivia's back reassuringly "it's okay we'll get you changed into some new clothes"

"I don't have any spare clothes with me"

"I'll give you Emily's shorts to wear and she can just go home in a towel"

"That's not fair on Emily though"

"She won't mind"

"I don't have any clean knickers though, so they'll just get dirty again"

"As it goes I've got a clean pair in my bag of Emily's that she put in my bag yesterday but didn't end up wearing"

Rachel gave Olivia the clean clothes.

"You go and get sorted then love"

Olivia went to the loo and got changed and then came back again.

"Are Mum and Dad not back yet?"

"No not yet, must be a big queue"

"Everyone's going to ask why I'm in different shorts now though"

"I'm sure the men won't even notice, and I'm sure Mum will probably notice but she won't ask something like that in front of everyone. She'll probably guess. Have you only just come on?"

"Yeah this morning. It's so annoying because by the time I come off again it will probably be time to leave and I won't be able to go swimming or anything" Olivia said sounding well and truly fed up

"It is a pain, but nothing you can do about it I'm afraid. Would you try using a tampon though so you can go swimming?"

"I did think about asking Mum this morning, but I didn't get a chance to get her on her own and I don't know if I could do it anyway"

"It's always worth a try, why don't you have a go later?"

"I could try I guess"

Rachel soon changed the conversation when she saw Paul and all the kids heading back to them, who were all starving.

They went and ordered some chips and stuff from the café and stayed for a few more hours before heading back to the villa.

Poppy had such a nice day with her family, and Rachel couldn't believe that her daughter was now 11.

They stopped at the supermarket on the way back.

When they were back they all sat around the pool. Rachel noticed Emily was missing though so went to check on her.

She found her lying on her bed so went in and sat on the bed next to her.

"Are you okay love?"

"My stomach hurts"

"Oh do you think your period is due then?"

"No it feels different to when I started my period last time" Emily said blushing slightly

"Do you need to go to the toilet?"

"Mum you don't need to ask me questions like that"

"Well it might help"

"No I don't need to go, my tummy is really bloated though"

"It could be the different food over here, my stomach never feels great when we're abroad"

"Yeah probably"

"Well are you going to come downstairs with everyone?"

"Yeah okay, I'll come and lie on a sun lounger" Emily said before standing up

"Come on then"

Emily started following her Mum out.

"Actually I think I do have to go to the toilet"

"Okay I'll see you downstairs love"

By the time Rachel got back to her sun lounger there was a gin and tonic waiting for her. The men had beers and Karen had a gin and tonic too, as did Charlotte and Ellie.

When Emily came down she joined Olivia and Poppy in the pool.

It was a few hours later and Poppy had had a lovely day but was starting to get really tired so Rachel put her to bed.

She didn't realise until she went to put her to bed that she was actually feeling quite tipsy.

It didn't take long to settle Poppy down so Rachel went back down with everyone else.

Rachel noticed Charlotte and Ellie had new drinks, and thought they must be feeling tipsy too if Rachel was.

They were having fun though, so Rachel went and got another drink for her and Karen.

After a couple more hours of drinking Rachel was ready for bed, so decided to make herself a cup of tea before heading upstairs.

"No more drinks for you two, I think you've had quite enough"

"I think so too" Karen said

Rachel had been lying in bed for about 20 minutes when her bedroom door started opening. She assumed it was Paul but when she turned around she was surprised to see it was actually Ellie.

"Hey Els, everything okay?"

"Yes thank you" Ellie said standing there giggling, clearly very drunk, before climbing into bed next to her Auntie to give her a massive cuddle

"This is nice"

Rachel tried to ease Ellie away from her after a while but Ellie just gripped onto her Auntie tighter.

"I think you need to go to bed love, you must be tired"

"I love you Auntie Rachel"

"I love you too sweetheart"

"You're the best Auntie ever"

Charlotte had been looking for Ellie and started laughing when she found her in bed with her Mum.

"Come on then Els, go back to your room with Charl"

"I want to sleep with you tonight"

"Well as nice as this cuddle is, I don't think there's enough room in here for you, me and Uncle Paul"

"Uncle Paul can sleep in my bed"

It took a while but Rachel and Charlotte eventually managed to get Ellie into her own bed.

"Night night sweetheart" Rachel said

"Just one more cuddle"

"Okay one more"

Rachel gave Ellie one more cuddle before Ellie did finally let her go. Rachel went and said goodnight to Charlotte before returning to her own bed.

The next morning Ellie woke up and remembered everything that happened last night.

"I was so drunk last night" Ellie said when she realised Charlotte was awake too

"Yeah me too, you were so funny when you got into bed with Mum and wanted to sleep with her"

"It's so embarrassing"

"You literally wouldn't let go of her"

"She does give good cuddles"

"Yes I know" Charlotte said laughing

The two girls stayed in bed for a while, both feeling a bit hungover, but realised they should probably get up soon.

They made their way downstairs and went into the kitchen. No-one was in there so they guessed everyone was outside.

Rachel came into get some water and saw the girls there. She gave Ellie a hug.

"How are you feeling today girls?"

"Not great" Charlotte said

"My head really hurts" Ellie added

"We did drink quite a bit last night, I'm not feeling too good either" Rachel admitted

They chatted for a while about last night and then the three of them headed outside.

"I can't eat this" Charlotte said beginning to realise she was more hungover than she first thought

Ellie laughed.

Luckily no-one fancied doing much today so they decided to have a lazy day around the villa.

After a relaxing day of sunbathing and swimming they decided to go out for a meal that night.

Charlotte had been feeling really rough all day but was finally starting to feel more normal. She went and had a shower before deciding what to wear that night.

Ellie had a shower straight after Charlotte and then they got ready together.

Ellie was stood in her bra and pants when Rachel walked in.

"Oh sorry love, I was in my own world then and didn't even knock"

"It's okay" Ellie said before quickly putting her dress over her head

"I was just coming to tell you we're leaving in half an hour"

"Okay"

Charlotte curled Ellie's hair for her quickly before doing her own. Then they were ready to go.

They went out in the village near them and all enjoyed some Tapas.


	14. Chapter 14

The summer holidays were well and truly over and the Mason family were back into the school and work routine.

Poppy had started at a new school and was absolutely loving it. It was so nice to see her come home from school bubbly and excited to share stories about her day.

Rachel was still working part-time so was having a day of cleaning and food shopping.

She'd just got back from Tesco after doing a big food shop when her phone started to ring. Rachel rummaged around in her handbag for her phone and when she found it saw it was Emily's school ringing.

Emily had been complaining of a stomach ache before school so assumed it had got worse and needed to come home.

However, when Rachel picked up the phone it was actually Emily's Head of Year and not the school nurse.

"Are you able to come into school to pick up Emily?"

"Yes of course, is she poorly?"

"No she's not poorly, but she's extremely upset and I think it's best you take her home for the rest of the day"

"Why, what's happened?" Rachel asked just wanting to know the full story

"It's best we talk about it when you get here. But just so you're not in the dark about the situation, Emily had sent an inappropriate photo on Snapchat, and unfortunately it has been sent to a lot of people in the school"

"How was it inappropriate and who did she send it to in the first place?" Rachel asked although she already had a pretty good idea

"It was a topless photo that she sent, she sent it to Tom Rogers from the boys school. If you are available to come in, it really would be best if we discuss this at school"

"Of course, I'll come straight away"

Rachel was shocked and couldn't believe her daughter would do something like this. She quickly put the food away that needed to go in the fridge and freezer before getting straight back in the car and going to Emily's school. Although Rachel couldn't believe how stupid Emily had been, she was still feeling really worried about her daughter and just wanted to be there for her.

After signing in at reception, Rachel was met by Emily's head of year and they went to her office.

As soon as she walked into the office, she saw Emily and she was in a right state. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara had smudged everywhere. She also looked terrified when she saw Rachel.

Rachel went straight over and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"I'm so sorry Mum"

"Hey don't worry about it for now, we'll talk in a minute" Rachel said as tears were streaming down Emily's face once again and she was starting to get quite hysterical

"Right Emily, I think the best thing for you to do today is to go home with your Mum as I really don't think you're going to be able to concentrate in your lessons this afternoon"

"Thank you" Emily sobbed, she was so relieved she didn't have to go back to her classes

"However I do expect you back tomorrow and you'll need to speak to your maths teacher and your history teacher to see what you missed in their lessons and then catch up in your own time"

"Okay"

"You can come and see me tomorrow morning instead of going to tutor time so we can have a chat, and you can bring Mum too if you'd prefer"

"See you tomorrow"

Emily picked up her school bag, she just wanted to get out of here.

The two of them said goodbye before making their way back to reception.

Rachel signed out at reception and they made their way to the car.

Emily had been so relieved when she first saw her Mum but now it was just the two of them she was starting to feel really embarrassed about what she'd done.

"Come on, try and stop these tears for me. I know everything must feel awful at the minute, but everything's going to be okay. How about we go and get some coffee and cake and have a little chat?"

"Okay"

Rachel drove to Emily's favourite cake shop.

"Wait actually can we just stay in the car, I look such a mess"

Rachel got some makeup wipes out of her handbag and sorted out Emily's face.

"There, much better"

"I look awful, my skin is so red and blotchy and my eyes are really puffy"

"No-one's going to take any notice, come on cake will make you feel better"

They went into the shop and Rachel got a coffee and a piece of lemon drizzle cake and Emily had a chocolate brownie.

"So you going to tell me about what happened then?"

"Do we have to Mum? I really don't want to talk about it with you. It's so embarrassing"

"Well if you were prepared to do something like this, you should have been prepared to talk about it with me. I'm not going to force you to but I really would like to know what made you think it was a good idea. I'm not going to lecture you about it, I do work in a school remember so I do realise that things like this do go on"

"It's still embarrassing"

"Who is Tom Rogers then? I haven't even heard you mention him"

"He goes to the boys school. We met at the school disco at the end of last term and then we were talking all over the summer and we got on really well"

"So is he your boyfriend?"

"No, not exactly. I'd saw we're closer than just friends but he hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend or anything"

"Okay, so how come you sent the photo? Did he ask you to send it?" Rachel asked and Emily nodded

"Did you want to send it?"

"No I knew it wasn't a good idea"

"So why did you send it then?"

"I don't know"

"I'm sorry Em, but I don't really understand. If he asked you to and you didn't want to, why didn't you just say no?"

"I didn't want him to think I was a baby" Emily mumbled

"You're only 12 Em"

"I'm going to be 13 this month"

"The point is you shouldn't do something you're not comfortable with just to please someone else"

"I realise that now" Emily said rolling her eyes at her Mum

"Hey, I already said this isn't a lecture. I just want you to not feel pressured into something you don't want to do. It's your body and I don't think you're in a situation yet where it's appropriate for you to be sharing it with boys, whether in a photo or in person"

"I'm not sharing it with boys, just one"

"Even if it is just one, I still don't think you're ready. Did you not think about what he could do if you sent him the photo?"

"I thought this wasn't a lecture?"

"It's not, I'm sorry"

"I thought I could trust him, when I sent it I didn't think he was one of those boys that would do something like that. But when I got a notification saying that he'd taken a screenshot I instantly got worried and wished I hadn't done it" Emily said starting to cry again

"Well now you've experienced how it can all go wrong, and I really hope you've learnt from it and won't do it again"

"Never, boys are so stupid I hate them"

"Why do I get the feeling your opinion will soon change back again?"

"Not anytime soon and I'm never going to speak to Tom again, it's such an immature thing to do."

"I know sweetheart, at your age the difference in maturity between boys and girls is very obvious. They do catch up though I promise"

"Everyone's talking about me though because of him, I don't want to go back to school tomorrow and face everyone"

"That's a choice you don't have to make I'm afraid. You're lucky you got to have the afternoon off today. I know going back in and facing your peers after something like this seems like the worst thing in the world at the moment, but the sooner you go back and get it over with the sooner everyone will forget about it"

"I won't be able to forget"

"To start with probably not, but eventually you will. And in years to come you'll look back at it with your friends and laugh"

"I hope so"

"It's not like you're the first girl to do something like this and you won't be the last either"

"I can't believe I was so stupid and actually thought he wouldn't send it to anyone"

"But now you've learnt from your mistake and hopefully you realise now that it really isn't a good idea"

"I do"

"Good"

They carried on chatting for a bit but it was soon time for the school run. Emily was so pleased Rachel had been so understanding of the whole thing, and felt so lucky to have her Mum.


	15. Chapter 15

**This is set a few months later**

Rachel was at work but she really wasn't feeling very well. She had a really bad headache and she couldn't concentrate at all.

She'd made it through the first two lessons of the day and was glad that it was break time.

She headed to the staff room to fill up her water bottle and take some more paracetamol.

Holding a conversation with anyone was even a struggle.

"Are you okay Rachel?" Tom asked

"I've got a bit of a headache, but I've just taken some tablets so hopefully it will shift in a minute"

"Are you sure? Because you sure don't look it"

"I'm fine"

Rachel sat down for the rest of the break and barely spoke to anyone. By the time the bell went signalling the end of break her headache had got even worse.

She got up after most people had left.

"Rach, I can find cover for your class if you need to go home" Tom said as Rachel was looking very pale

"Actually that would be great if you don't mind Tom, I think I need to go home"

"Do you think you should be driving?"

"I don't know"

Rachel really wasn't her usual self and wasn't with it at all.

"You sit there while I arrange cover and then I'll be back"

Rachel sat down holding her head, not knowing what to do with herself.

Tom arranged cover for Rachel's class telling Rachel he'd drive her home.

"I need to tell Charlotte I'm going"

"Okay let's go and see if she's in the common room and if not we'll find out what lesson she's in"

They headed to the common room and luckily Charlotte was in there so they headed over to her.

"Charlotte, your Mum isn't very well so I'm going to take her home"

"What's wrong Mum?"

"I've got a headache"

"Oh is it one of your bad ones?" she asked and Rachel nodded

"I've taken tablets so it should be better soon hopefully"

"I can do the school run if you like"

"Thanks love, I'll see you at home"

Rachel left with Tom and drove to Rachel's.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright Rachel?"

"I'll be fine"

Rachel went inside and got straight into bed.

The pain was on one side of her head and was so sore.

She felt guilty having to leave school early bur she didn't really have a choice, she couldn't do anything when she was in so much pain.

Charlotte waited in school until it was time to pick Poppy up from her after school club and then went to get her sister.

"Where's Mummy?" Poppy asked when she said Charlotte

"She's poorly so she's at home"

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's got a headache"

Charlotte and Poppy walked back to Charlotte's car before driving home.

When they got home Emily and Thomas were back from school as they'd both walked back from the bus stop. Charlotte had text them both to tell them Rachel wasn't very well.

"I just went up to see Mum and she's in so much pain" Emily told her sister

"Okay I'll go up and check on her"

Poppy went upstairs with Charlotte.

"Go and get changed out of your uniform Poppy"

"No I want to see Mummy"

"After you're changed"

Reluctantly Poppy did as she was told and went to get changed so Charlotte went into her Mum and Dad's room.

"Mum I thought you said you'd taken a tablet?"

"I have but they don't seem to be working. I've taken three lots now"

"You're only meant to take one aren't you?"

"I've been taking paracetamol because I've run out of my special ones"

"But the doctor said paracetamol won't help when you get these headaches, you have to take the right one"

"Yeah well I thought it might help a bit"

"Right, I'll ring the doctor's and see if I can get you an appointment"

Charlotte rung the doctor's and managed to get an appointment for her Mum at 5:30. She was going to have to take her too as Paul was away for the night because he had a conference.

Poppy came and cuddled her Mum until it was time to go.

"Mum it's time go to now"

Rachel managed to get out of bed and go downstairs.

"Hopefully we won't be too long, are you three going to be okay here?"

"We'll be fine"

"I'll get tea when we get back"

Charlotte took Rachel to the doctor's and then they had to go and pick up her prescription so it was about 6:30 before they got back.

"I don't know what we were having for tea but I made beans on toast for Poppy because she was really hungry"

"Thanks Em, that's good as she needs to be going to bed in half an hour anyway. Have you and Thomas eaten?"

"No we're waiting for you"

"Okay Mum said she was going to make a Bolognese I think so I'll make it now"

Charlotte made the Bolognese and then left it to simmer and started boiling some pasta. She then took Poppy upstairs to get her ready for bed and check on Rachel.

When she went into see Rachel she was fast asleep.

"Shh Mummy's asleep" Charlotte whispered when Poppy followed her in

Charlotte got Poppy changed into her pyjamas and then put her into bed.

"I want to say goodnight to Mummy"

"But she's asleep"

"If she wakes up will you tell her to come in and say goodnight to me?"

"Yes but you'll probably be asleep by then"

Charlotte said goodnight to Poppy and then went downstairs to eat with Emily and Thomas.

After they'd eaten they all cleared up together.

It was a couple of hours later when Rachel came down.

"Hey Mum, how are you feeling now?"

"So much better now"

"You should have gone to the doctor's as soon as it started, well actually you should've gone when you first ran out"

"I know, I did keep meaning to but I never seem to have the time"

"I just checked on Poppy and she's fast asleep, have you all eaten?"

"Yeah Emily made Poppy beans on toast when we were at the doctor's and then we had a spaghetti Bolognese"

"It's all very tidy too, than you so much love"

"Thomas and Emily helped too"

"You've all been brilliant. I'll be looking after you again tomorrow I promise"

Rachel was so relieved that she was feeling well again and was also very grateful for how good her children had been.

 **Please review xxx**


	16. Chapter 16

Emily was lying in bed but she couldn't sleep.

She knew it had been ages since she settled down to try, she kept tossing and turning but no matter what she did she just couldn't drop off.

Emily looked at the clock and saw it was 2 o clock in the morning. She couldn't believe she still hadn't been to sleep yet.

Feeling really frustrated, Emily couldn't help but start to cry. She knew she really needed to get to sleep as she had a test tomorrow that she was already worried about, and she was hardly going to do her best if she was tired.

Emily just couldn't switch her mind off from worrying about her friend Sophie. Earlier when Emily was at Sophie's house she told her a really big secret but Emily had promised not to say a word to anyone about it. Emily hadn't stopped thinking about her ever since Sophie had told her.

After another half an hour Emily still wasn't asleep so she got out of bed and went to the loo before going downstairs.

When she got down Bella started barking straight away.

This woke Rachel up so she went downstairs to see what all of the barking was about. She was surprised when she got down there and found her daughter on the sofa cuddled up with the dog.

"What are you doing down here love?" Rachel asked as she sat down next to Emily

"I can't sleep"

"It's always annoying when you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't get back to sleep isn't it?"

"I haven't been to sleep yet" Emily told her Mum as tears started to form in her eyes

Rachel was shocked by this.

"You should have woken me up darling"

"There's nothing you can do to help me"

Rachel had noticed the tears in Emily's eyes now so pulled her daughter in for a hug.

"Usually when I can't sleep it's because there's something on my mind. Is there something on your mind?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders

"Please tell me darling"

"I have a maths test tomorrow which I'm a bit worried about"

Emily was starting to get a bit worried about it, but that was nothing compared to what Sophie was going through. She wished she could tell Rachel, but she couldn't after she promised Sophie.

"You shouldn't worry about it love. They're to help you as much as anything, they can help identify areas that you're struggling with so you can work on them"

"I suppose, but I'm going to do so badly now because I'm going to be so tired"

"Just do your best darling, that's all I ever ask for"

"I know" Emily said

Rachel comforting Emily was only making her cry even more.

Rachel wasn't convinced that this was all that was bothering Emily. She'd been ever so quiet ever since she'd picked her up from Sophie's house earlier and she was crying quite a lot now.

"I think I'll be able to go to sleep now" Emily lied

"Are you sure there's nothing else love?"

"I'm sure" Emily said before standing up "sorry for waking you up"

Emily then went back upstairs leaving Rachel worried about what was wrong.

Rachel followed Emily up to her bedroom and went to check on her.

Emily was lying in bed crying hysterically.

"Oh sweetheart, come here" Rachel said

Emily leant into her Mum and had a proper cry.

After a few minutes of Emily crying into Rachel's chest Rachel tried to get Emily to tell her what was wrong. No matter what Rachel said though Emily wouldn't tell her why she was crying so much.

Emily just didn't know what to do. She was so worried about her friend but she didn't want to break her trust as she was one of her closest friends.

Emily ended up crying herself to sleep leaving Rachel feeling extremely worried about her daughter.

The following morning Emily woke up early and immediately began to worry about Sophie again. She knew she needed to persuade Sophie to tell someone today as she didn't think she could keep it a secret for much longer. She would hate it if something bad were to happen to Sophie.

Rachel was surprised when she went into wake Emily to find her already awake.

Emily shot straight past Rachel and into the bathroom to avoid having to speak to her Mum.

Rachel was ever so worried about Emily but didn't get chance to speak to her before she left to go to school, but Rachel was determined to get to the bottom of it later.

Emily was in registration and she really worried as Sophie still hadn't arrived at school. Emily had text her but so far hadn't heard back.

Emily was checking her phone to see if she had replied when her teacher caught her.

"Phone away Emily, you know it should be off" her form tutor said

"Sorry Miss"

Emily's first lesson was history but she couldn't concentrate at school.

This was no good, she still hadn't heard from Sophie so she needed to check if she was okay.

Emily put her hand up.

"What is it Emily?" Mr Hall asked

"I don't feel very well Sir"

"What's wrong?"

"I feel really sick"

Mr Hall had no reason not to believe her so sent her to see the nurse.

Emily started crying again when she got to the nurse as she was so worried, so the nurse decided it was best she went home.

Rachel was in the middle of teaching when her phone started ringing. When she saw it was Emily's school she realised she'd better answer it so went outside to take the call.

Rachel said she had a free period lesson 2 so agreed to come after she'd finished teaching her first lesson.

The time seemed to drag for Emily. She didn't know how she was supposed to check on Sophie without finding out, but she just knew that she needed to.

Eventually Rachel came so Emily left with her.

"When did you start feeling sick love?" Rachel asked as they walked back to the car

"This morning"

They climbed back in the car and Emily was still extremely tearful.

"Mum" Emily said nervously

"Yes"

"Could we maybe go to Sophie's house?"

"Sophie's house? Isn't Sophie at school"

"No she isn't"

"Please don't tell me the two of you have set this up, just fancied a little day off"

"No Mum we didn't I promise you"

"What do you want to go to Sophie's house for then? I thought you felt poorly"

"I need to see if she's okay"

"Why?"

"I just do. Please can you just stop asking questions and take me there"

"No I'm afraid I can't. I've left work to pick you up from school because you're supposedly poorly and now you want me to take you to your friends house"

"It isn't like that Mum, I'm just really worried about Sophie"

"Why?"

"I can't tell you"

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what this is all about Em"

"Mum please just drive me there" Emily said with tears rolling down her face

"Not until you tell me why"

Emily couldn't keep this a secret any longer, she was going to have to tell her Mum.

"Sophie told me something yesterday and now I'm worried she's done something to hurt herself"

"What did she tell you?"

"That she self harms" Emily told her already feeling bad for going behind Sophie's back

Rachel had not been expecting this so was a little put back.

"Oh darling, is that what you were so upset about last night?" Rachel asked and Emily nodded

"I'm sure she's absolutely fine, but come on let's go and check but then I really do need to get back to work"

The two of them drove to Sophie's house, which was in a bit of a rough area of Rochdale.

Emily nervously knocked on the door and was so relieved when Sophie answered.

"What are you doing here Em?"

"I was worried about you, you didn't turn up for school and then you weren't answering my texts"

"Sorry, Mum never came home last night and I couldn't exactly leave Sam here on his own" Sophie said holding her two year old brother

"Did you come out of school just to check on me?"

"Yeah I was so worried"

Sophie suddenly noticed Rachel sat in the car.

"What did you tell your Mum?"

"Well I told school I was poorly so Mum came to pick me up and then I told Mum I was worried about you and wanted to check you were okay"

"You didn't tell her what I told you though did you?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice"

"Yes you did, you chose to break a promise"

"I'd worried you'd done something to hurt yourself, I didn't want anything bad to happen"

"Well as you can see I'm fine, thanks for nothing Emily" Sophie said before closing the door in her face

Emily ran back to the car in tears. She was only trying to help but she'd just gone and made things worse.

"Oh love come here" Rachel said pulling her in for a cuddle realising Sophie must have been upset with Emily

"She'll understand why you did it when she calms down sweetheart"

"She's never going to want to be my friend again"

"Trust me she's so lucky to have a friend as caring as you that was so worried you couldn't sleep last night and then pretended you were poorly so you could get out of school and check she was okay"

"She won't see if like that though"

"She'll forgive you darling, you did the right thing I promise. Sophie obviously isn't in a very good place at the minute, does her Mum know how she's feeling?"

"I doubt it, she didn't even come home last night which is why Sophie didn't come to school because she couldn't leave Sam at home on his own"

It made Rachel so sad to think about some of the home lives children had.

Rachel put her head in her hands, she didn't know what to do for the best now.

"What is it Mum?"

"I'm just thinking"

"About what?"

"I think we need to ring social services love"

"What no you can't do that"

"It's the best thing to do though, for Sophie and for Sam"

"She'll hate me even more though"

"Sweetheart we're acting in her best interest I promise you. The thing is though obviously Sophie is extremely unhappy, which is why she feels the need to hurt herself, so surely it's a good thing if we can get her into a happier place"

"I suppose. So does this mean she'll go into care"

"Hopefully they can find a really nice foster family for Sophie and her brother to go to. So I want you to wait here and I'm going to go in and speak to Sophie and explain what I'm about to do"

Emily wasn't sure, she was sure Sophie would never forgive her for this. But she also knew that Sophie wasn't happy at home at all so hopefully this way she could have a happier life.

Emily nervously waited in the car while Rachel went in and spoke to Sophie.

It was so hard for Rachel to do, but she knew it was the best thing to do.

Rachel stayed with her until a social worker turned up. She felt bad leaving Sophie when she was so upset, but she had to get back to work.

"Are you okay Mum?" Emily asked when Rachel got back in the car and looked like she was about to start crying

"That just wasn't an easy thing to do, but it was the right decision"

Rachel didn't have any other choice than to bring Emily with her to work now.

Emily was really worried about Sophie. She felt so sorry for her friend and so lucky to have the family that she did.

She couldn't imagine being in the situation that Sophie was in now.

At the end of the day Rachel and Emily were both extremely glad to get home.

"Do you think Sophie is okay Mum? I haven't heard from her all day"

"I'm sure she's just processing everything that's happening and hopefully she'll speak to you soon"

Emily was still really worried though.

"Do you think she'll stop hurting herself now she's not living at home anymore"

"I don't think so straight away, but hopefully with time. She should get the help she needs to stop though"

"I don't understand why likes to hurt herself"

"It's a very difficult thing to understand love. I think for most people it's a way of coping. Sophie hasn't had very good support from her parents growing up which is obviously very hard and has made her very unhappy. And for some people self harming helps them to feel better"

Emily had tears in her eyes again, this was all so hard for her to understand.

Emily tried to get on with some homework but she couldn't concentrate on anything.

Suddenly her phone went off and when Emily saw it was a text from Sophie she started to feel nervous about reading what Sophie was going to say to her.

Emily was so relieved when she saw Sophie wasn't angry with her though. In fact she had thanked her for what her and Rachel had done. She said she'd had a long think and realised this was a good thing for her and Sam.

Emily showed the message to Mum.

"See, I told you it would all work out in the end didn't i?"

"I'm so glad she feels happier now that she's away from her Mum"

"And she's staying with a family with Sam, so she still has her brother"

"I could never be happy about having to leave you Mum"

"And you're never going to have to leave me, I will always be here for you Em"

"I love you Mum"

"I love you too darling"


	17. Chapter 17

It was a Saturday morning and Rachel, Emily and Poppy were all getting ready to go into town.

Emily was meeting her friends and then they were all coming back afterwards for a sleepover.

Originally Rachel was going to drop Emily to the station so she could catch the train in, but in the end she decided she would take Poppy in too.

Rachel always made an effort to spend 1 on 1 time with each of her children, so she thought it might be nice for her and Poppy to spend some time together while Emily was with her friends.

"Em we need to go in about fifteen minutes" Rachel shouted up the stairs

"Okay"

Rachel put some washing in the machine before going upstairs to make sure she had everything in her bag.

She'd just got back downstairs when Charlotte walked in after going to the gym.

"Hiya love, how was the gym?"

"It was good, I was in there for about an hour and fifteen minutes"

"Well done, you're putting me to shame. Maybe I'll go for a run tomorrow"

"I think it's meant to rain all day tomorrow"

"Maybe not then. We're heading off in about five minutes"

"Okay, I think Harry will be over in about an hour" Charlotte said as her boyfriend was coming over for the day

It wasn't long before Emily came downstairs so they decided to head off.

"Poppy come and put your shoes and coat on" Rachel said to her daughter

Poppy did as her Mum asked straight away.

"Bye Charl, have a nice afternoon" Rachel said to her eldest daughter who was now making herself some lunch

"Hope you have a nice time, see you when you get back"

Rachel then headed to the car with Emily and Poppy.

"How long do you think you'll want to spend shopping Ems?"

"Urmm I don't know, a few hours"

"Okay well you'll just have to let me know when you're ready to come home, I don't want to spend hours and hours in town though"

"Okay"

Once they'd got into town and parked Emily went straight off to meet her friends.

"Right then Popps, do you want to go for lunch now or do a bit of shopping first?"

"Have lunch now"

"Where do you fancy going"

"Pizza Express" Poppy said excitedly with a massive grin on her face

"Well that was easy, let's go to Pizza Express then"

It was fairly busy in Pizza Express but they managed to get a table. Poppy decided to have a Bolognese and Rachel ordered a goat's cheese and caramelised onion pizza.

Rachel and Poppy had a really nice chat whilst they had lunch and Poppy enjoyed having her Mum's attention all to herself.

After they'd finished their lunch they headed to the shops.

They had a wedding to go to in a few weeks so Rachel wanted to get a new dress for Poppy for the wedding. Rachel usually loved the dresses in Monsoon for Poppy so they headed there first.

"Can I get this one Mummy?" Poppy asked pointing to a dress with unicorns on

"It's very nice love, but I don't think it's quite right for the wedding"

Between them they found three dresses they liked so headed to the changing rooms to try them on.

Two of the dresses fitted Poppy and Rachel really liked them both so she let Poppy decide which one she liked best out of the two.

"Which one do you want to wear then love?"

"The one with butterflies"

"Good choice, you're going to look gorgeous"

Once Rachel had paid for the dress in Monsoon they went into Boots as Rachel needed a new mascara and a few other bits.

Rachel picked up everything she needed and was about to go and pay when Rachel remembered something she wanted to pick up for Poppy.

"While we're in here, I was thinking we could get you some stuff to wash your face with everyday like Charlotte and Emily do" Rachel said as Poppy was at the age now where she needed to be keeping her skin clean properly

"I always wash my face in the bath though"

"I know you do, but wouldn't you like to get a nice face cleanser and some moisturiser?"

"You put that on me before and it made my skin feel really nice"

"Yeah exactly, so if you do it everyday then you'll skin will feel extra nice all the time"

"Okay then"

Rachel picked up some face things for Poppy to try before they headed to the tills.

"Where do you want to go next?" Rachel asked Poppy

"Please can we go to Claire's"

"I would say so"

After a couple of hours Emily rang Rachel and said they were ready to leave so Rachel and Poppy went to meet Emily and her friends at the car.

"Wow you've all bought lots" Rachel said after seeing the bags they were all carrying

They got in the car and drove home. Emily went straight up to her bedroom with her friends and Poppy and Rachel stayed in the kitchen to talk to Paul.

"Where's Charlotte and Thomas?"

"Charlotte's gone for a walk with Harry and Thomas is playing on the PlayStation"

Rachel was feeling pretty worn out and was looking forward to a relaxing evening but knew she needed to put all of the shopping away and sort tea out first, so decided to get straight on with it.

"Do you want to show Dad the dress you got Popps?" Rachel asked and Poppy nodded before showing Paul

Once they'd showed him the rest of the stuff they bought Rachel went upstairs to put it all away.

Rachel was busy hanging up some of her new clothes in the wardrobe so didn't hear Charlotte walk into her bedroom.

"Mum" Charlotte said so Rachel turned around and immediately noticed her daughter's red and tear stained face

"What's happened love?" Rachel asked as engulfed her daughter into a much needed hug

"Harry broke up with me" Charlotte cried

Rachel was shocked by this. She thought things were going really well between the two of them and Charlotte seemed to really like him.

"Oh my love, come and sit on the bed a sec" Rachel said

Charlotte sat down on the bed next to her Mum.

"I know how you must be feeling right now, and I know how awful it seems at the minute but it will all be okay in the end"

"I love him so much Mum, I don't understand"

"Did he say why he wanted to end things?"

"He just said he doesn't have feelings for me and doesn't want to be with me anymore" Charlotte said with tears rolling down her face

Suddenly Poppy appeared in the doorway.

"Just give me a few minutes love, I'm just talking to Charlotte a second" Rachel said so Poppy walked out again

"That can't have been nice darling, when did he tell you?"

"When we went on a walk. He was in a really weird mood ever since he arrived and he… urmm he didn't want to have sex so I guessed there was something up. I suggested going for a walk and he broke up with me then"

"I know how hard it's going to be to start with but you will get over him my love, I promise you will"

"I thought things were going really well between us"

"So did I sweetheart, but you know what he's the one that's loosing out. You are so kind and clever and beautiful"

"If that's the case he wouldn't have broken up with me" Charlotte sobbed, she really was upset about it as she hadn't seen it coming at all

"You are all of those things Charl, but sometimes people change their mind. It's not because you aren't an amazing girl, because believe me you really are. It's good that he was honest with you and told you how he was feeling and with time you will move on from him"

"I guess"

Charlotte cried into her Mum for a bit longer before siting up and trying to wipe away all of her tears.

"How about I run you a nice bath, you can have a nice relax hmm?"

"Yeah okay"

Rachel went and started running a bath for Charlotte. When it was run she called Charlotte through before leaving her to it.

She remembered Poppy wanted her earlier so went to see what it was she wanted. She found Poppy in her bedroom doing some drawing.

"Hey love what was it you wanted earlier?"

"I wanted to play a game with you"

"Oh well I'm afraid I need to get on with tea, so maybe we can play one later"

"Okay, why was Poppy crying?"

"She's a bit upset because Harry isn't her boyfriend anymore"

"Why not?"

"Because people change their minds about being boyfriend and girlfriend sometimes. But Charlotte is really upset about it, so it's best you don't mention anything about Harry to her"

"Okay I won't"

"Than you love. Do you want to come downstairs and do your drawing while I cook tea?"

"Okay"

Rachel went downstairs and stared making the curry she was cooking for tea. There were lots of them so she wanted to do something easy.

She'd just started chopping an onion when Paul walked in.

"Is Charlotte okay? She was crying when she came in but when I asked her what was wrong she said she just wanted you"

"Harry broke up with her"

Paul felt really sad for his daughter because she knew how much she liked him.

"Do you fancy a glass of wine Rach?"

"Go on then"

Paul poured them a glass each and then helped Rachel to make the curry.

After a while Charlotte came down and joined them.

"How was your bath love?"

"It was nice, thanks Mum"

"Sorry to hear about you and Harry darling" Paul said to his daughter

"It's okay, it's not your fault" Charlotte said. She could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes but she really didn't want to start crying again

"Can I have a glass of wine too?"

"Okay"

Charlotte then got a glass out of the cupboard.

When the curry was ready Rachel called Thomas, Emily and her friends down.

Charlotte was very quiet but just pleased to be around her family after the day that she'd had.

Once they'd eaten Emily and her friends went back upstairs.

"Right then Poppy what game do you want to play?" Rachel asked after they'd cleared up

"Please can we play snakes and ladders?"

"Okay. I'm just going to go to the loo, you get it set up" Rachel said before going upstairs

She'd just come out of her bedroom after going to the loo when she saw Sophie walk out of Emily's bedroom and she didn't look too happy

"Sophie are you okay?"

"Yep I'm fine"

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked as she was unconvinced and then Sophie burst into tears

Sophie couldn't believe she'd just started crying, she was finding it so embarrassing.

"Come into my room for a second love" Rachel said before guiding the girl into her room

Sophie was trying really hard to stop crying but she just couldn't help the tears that were falling from he eyes

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Rachel asked and Sophie shrugged

"I know you're going through a bit of a hard time at the minute Sophie and I want to help you if I can. I won't say anything to Emily about what you tell me"

"I'm fine, I'm so much happier living with my foster parents. I just find it hard sometimes when I think about everyone else's perfect families and being here with all of you tonight just made me so jealous of Emily" Sophie admitted

Sophie always got jealous of other people's parents but she was especially jealous of Rachel as she just seemed like such a good Mum.

"I know it must be hard. You know when I was growing up I didn't have very supportive parents so I know how difficult it is"

"Really?"

"Yep, really. My Mum and Dad got divorced when I was really young and my Mum just wasn't there for me in the way that Mum's should be. I didn't feel like I had anyone to talk to about how I was feeling or anything I'm struggling with"

"That's how I feel" Sophie cried

"You do have people you can talk to though love. You can talk to your foster parents, your friends, your teachers"

"It's not the same as having a Mum you can talk to though is it?"

"I know it's not. You can always talk to me too" Rachel said touching Sophie's arm reassuringly

"Thanks Rachel. I'm sorry for crying"

"Hey that's something you never need to apologise for, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a cry"

Sophie felt better after talking to Rachel so went back into Emily's room.

Rachel went downstairs.

"You were ages Mummy, what were you doing?"

"Sorry I was just checking on Emily and her friends. Shall we play this game then?"

Charlotte and Thomas joined in with the game too and once they'd finished playing Rachel put Poppy to bed.

"Do you want to use your new face stuff love?"

"Okay"

Rachel helped Poppy and showed her what to do. Once she'd washed her face and brushed her teeth Rachel put Poppy into bed.

"Night night love, see you in the morning. Sleep well"

"Night Mummy"

"Love you lots"

"Love you too"

Rachel then went downstairs ready to relax for the rest of the evening.

Charlotte was still feeling upset and emotional so had an early night.

Rachel hoped it wouldn't take her too long to get over Harry as she had exams coming up in a couple of months and the last thing Charlotte needed was a distraction like that.


	18. Chapter 18

Charlotte had really struggled for the past week after Harry had broken up with her. It had happened so suddenly and the fact she still loved him was making it so much harder.

The first few nights Charlotte had spent a lot of time crying to Rachel and speaking to her friends about it, but now she was just blocking everyone out. All Charlotte could think about was Harry which was making it really hard for her to concentrate on any school work.

Rachel had just finished making a vegetable soup for lunch so called everyone down as she dished up.

Paul was working today so it was just Rachel and the kids at home.

"When are Daisy and Florrie coming?" Poppy asked

"In about an hour sweetheart"

"I can't wait for them to come"

Their neighbours, Rebecca and Mark, were going away for the night so Rachel had offered to have their eldest two children as Rebecca's Mum and Dad were on holiday at the moment and Mark's Mum didn't like looking after all three children at the same time.

"I was thinking we could go swimming this afternoon as the weather is rubbish" Rachel said thinking this was the easiest way to occupy them when they couldn't go outside

"Really?" Poppy asked excitedly

"Yep if you want to"

"I do"

"Who else wants to come?" Rachel asked her other children

"I'll come" Thomas said

"Yeah and me" Emily added

"How about you Charl?"

"No I've got homework to do"

"Could you not spare a couple of hours, I was hoping you'd be able to help me out a bit"

"I've got too much to do and the last place I want be on a rainy Saturday afternoon is at a swimming pool filled with screaming kids"

"I can help you Mum" Emily said

"Thanks love, that would be great"

Charlotte definitely wasn't her usual bubbly self, she barely joined in with any conversation whilst they had lunch.

When they'd finished Charlotte went straight upstairs as supposed to helping Rachel stack the dishwasher like she normally would.

Once she'd cleared up Rachel did a bit of hoovering and it wasn't long before Rebecca turned up to drop off Daisy and Florrie.

Since moving Rachel and Rebecca had become really close so Daisy and Florrie had spent a lot of time with Rachel and felt happy to be staying with her.

"I said to Poppy we could go swimming this afternoon if Daisy and Florrie fancy it"

"I'm sure you do, don't you girls?" Rebecca said and they both nodded

"I'll just nip back and get their swim stuff then"

"Mummy I forgot to give Ivy a kiss goodbye" Florrie suddenly said

"Okay do you want to come back with me to get your swimming stuff and then you can give her one"

"Okay Mummy"

Rebecca quickly popped home to get the girls swim stuff before coming back again and stopping for a quick coffee with Rachel.

"Right girls, we'll go in about an hour so do you want to go upstairs and play in Poppy's bedroom for a bit"

Poppy went upstairs with Daisy and Florrie to play.

"Are you sure you don't mind having them tonight Rach?"

"Of course not, I'm looking forward to it actually. I miss having young kids sometimes"

"Thank you, we really do appreciate it"

"It's honestly no problem, don't worry about them just make sure you enjoy your night away"

"I'm sure we will"

Rebecca was about to head off but then she remembered that she wanted to speak to Rachel quickly about Daisy.

"Can I have a quick word before we go?" Rebecca asked as Emily and Thomas were both in the kitchen with them and she knew Daisy wouldn't want them knowing

Rachel took Rebecca into the study so they could speak privately.

"Can you make sure Daisy puts her nappy pants on before she goes to sleep? She gets really embarrassed about having to wear them so it's likely she'll just not bother"

Rachel knew that Daisy still needed to wear a nappy to bed because of the problem with her kidney

"Yeah course I will" Rachel said smiling

Rebecca called Daisy and Florrie down to say goodbye.

Luckily they didn't seem at all apprehensive about Rebecca leaving which Rachel was pleased about.

"Are we going soon Mum?" Poppy asked

"Another half an hour and then we are"

Rachel went upstairs to get hers and Poppy's stuff packed. She couldn't say she really fancied an afternoon at the swimming pool, but she knew the kids would all enjoy it.

Once she had all of the stuff packed she went to see Charlotte in her bedroom.

Rachel knocked on her bedroom door knowing that if she didn't it would put Charlotte in an even worse mood than she was already in.

"Yeah" Charlotte called so Rachel opened the door to find Charlotte sat on her bed watching something on her laptop

"I thought you had homework to do"

"I do but it is Saturday so do I not deserve a bit of a break?" Charlotte said pausing what she was watching

"Of course you do"

"What did you want anyway?"

"I just wanted to check you're okay, you seem a bit…"

"I'm fine Mum" Charlotte said speaking over the top of her Mum

"Okay, well you know where I am if you want to talk"

"Yep"

Rachel sighed before leaving Charlotte to it and going to check Emily and Thomas were getting ready to go.

Once everyone was packed Rachel said goodbye to Charlotte and rounded up all the kids before getting them in the car.

When they got to the swimming pool, as expected it was very busy.

"Shall we meet you in the pool Thomas? I expect we'll be longer than you"

"Okay" Thomas said before heading to the men's changing rooms

When they got into the changing rooms there were only two cubicles free.

"Right, there's only two cubicles so do you want to come in with Emily and me in the family one Florrie and then Poppy and Daisy you can go in the other one?" Rachel suggested

Emily wasn't impressed by this but didn't exactly have a choice

"Poppy, Daisy, when you're changed come and wait for me by the lockers so we can put your stuff away. I don't want you going through to the swimming pool without me"

"Okay" they both said before going off

Rachel, Emily and Florrie went into the family cubicle.

Rachel got Florrie's swimsuit out of the bag and gave it to Florrie so she could get changed before starting to take off her own clothes. She'd put her swimsuit on underneath her clothes.

She turned around and noticed Emily struggling to get changed whilst holding a towel around her. Emily was feeling really self-conscious having to get changed with her Mum and Florrie in there too.

"Do you want me to hold the towel around you while you get changed love?"

"Yes please, I forgot to put my bikini on under my clothes before we left"

Once they were all changed they met Poppy and Daisy by the lockers so put all of their stuff away.

"Right let's go to the loo before we go in" Rachel said

"I don't need to go" Poppy said

"You probably do, hopefully then you won't have come out to go while we're swimming"

They went to the toilet before meeting Thomas in the swimming pool.

Emily and Thomas took Poppy and Daisy on some slides and Rachel stayed and swam with Florrie.

"You're very good at swimming Florrie"

"I have swimming lessons every Tuesday"

"Well no wonder you're so good"

A few minutes later Rachel spotted some pupils from Waterloo Road and before long they'd spotted her too so were heading over.

Rachel sighed, she didn't seem to be able to go anywhere without bumping into someone from Waterloo Road.

"Hi girls" Rachel said to some of her top set year eights

"Is that your daughter miss?"

Florrie was nervously stood slightly behind Rachel.

"No this is Florrie, I'm looking after her today. Do you want to say hello Florrie?"

"Hello"

The girls all found Florrie very cute and stayed talking to them for a few minutes before going off.

It wasn't long before the others came back as Thomas and Emily wanted to go on the slides that Poppy and Daisy couldn't.

After an hour and a half in the swimming pool Rachel decided it was time to get out as they were starting to get cold.

When they went into the changing rooms Rachel was pleased to see it was a bit quieter.

After they had showers they went to get changed and Emily was pleased that she could go in a cubicle on her own this time.

Rachel went in with Florrie again and Poppy and Daisy wanted to share again.

Rachel had just finished getting Florrie dry when she heard Poppy shouting for her.

"What is it love?"

"I need you"

Rachel sighed, she was still in her towel and just wanted to get dressed

"I won't be long Florrie"

"What is it Poppy?" Rachel asked from outside their cubicle so Poppy opened the door

"I dropped my top in a puddle and now it's really wet"

"It's soaking, right well you'll just have to wear your hoodie without your t-shirt underneath"

"Okay"

Rachel left them to finish getting changed so went back to Florrie who was struggling to get her top on.

"Do you want me to help you?"

"Yes please, I keep getting stuck"

"That's okay, it's not very easy getting dressed after swimming isn't it"

Once Rachel had helped Florrie she got her own clothes out of the bag.

"Bloody hell" Rachel said when she realised she'd forgotten to pick up any knickers completely forgetting that Florrie was there

"That's a naughty word"

"I know sorry Florrie, I shouldn't have said it. It's very very naughty isn't it"

"Yes, why did you say it"

"Because I've just realised I forgot to pick up any underwear" Rachel said and Florrie started laughing

"I guess I'll have to go and dry my swimsuit in the drier and wear that under my clothes"

Rachel quickly wen and dried her swimsuit before coming back.

It was still quite wet and uncomfortable but it was better than nothing.

Once Rachel was changed she went out to get all of their hair sorted and then they met Thomas in the café for a drink.

They all decided to have a hot chocolate.

Once they'd finished they headed home again. When they got in Charlotte was sat with one of her friends.

"Hiya love, have you had a good afternoon?"

"Yeah it was good thank you, how was swimming?" Charlotte asked and Rachel noticed immediately that she seemed a lot happier

"Busy"

"Sorry I didn't come and help you"

"That's okay, we managed. Emily and Thomas were a great help"

"Mum is it okay if I go to a party tonight?"

"Who's party?"

"Megan Wood is having one"

"You didn't mention it before"

"I wasn't going to go but Laura changed my mind" Charlotte said

"Well yeah I guess you can"

"Thanks Mum"

Charlotte then went up to her bedroom with Laura. They were actually going to a club in Manchester tonight and not to a party.

Most of Charlotte's friends were eighteen now and even though Charlotte was only seventeen she'd found someone's ID to borrow. She wasn't going to tell her Mum though because she was worried she wouldn't let her go.

Charlotte heard her Mum go into her bedroom so went in after her.

"I'm sorry for being horrid over the last few days Mum" Charlotte said as she was starting to feel bad about the way she'd been acting around everyone. She's had a long chat with Laura who had cheered her up a lot bus also made her realise that she had been really moody

"You haven't seemed yourself I have to say. I know you haven't had a very nice week so I was trying to be there for you but you've been making it a bit difficult for me"

"I know, I'm sorry. Harry's just made me feel really down but I am sorry for the way I've been"

"It's okay, I know it's hard when you're hurting. Thank you for apologising though"

"That's okay, I do feel bad"

"Hopefully this party will cheer you up a bit tonight huh"

"I hope so, I'm looking forward to it"

"Good"

"Anyway, I better get back to Laura. Is it okay if Laura gets ready here and then you or Dad drop us to the party"

"Yeah okay, what time do you want to go?"

"About eight please"

"Okay love"

Charlotte left so Rachel changed out of her damp swimsuit and put some underwear on before going downstairs to put the pasta bake in the oven that she'd made for tea.

Paul got home just as Rachel was about to dish out. He was normally late home so she didn't usually wait for him to eat as it was usually too late for Poppy.

"Wow you must have actually left on time tonight" Rachel said when her husband walked though the door

"I only left five minutes late tonight"

"That's a first"

After they'd eaten Poppy, Daisy and Florrie wanted to watch a film so Rachel put Inside Out on for them to watch. Thomas and Emily both watched too and Charlotte and Laura went upstairs to get ready.

Charlotte was getting really excited as she'd never been clubbing before. She also couldn't wait to drink and try and take her mind off Harry for a bit.

After the film had been on for about an hour Rachel looked over and noticed that Florrie had fallen asleep. She had her thumb in her mouth and looked very cute.

Rachel went over and picked her up and carried her upstairs. She was only four so was still quite light.

When they got upstairs Florrie started to stir.

"You fell asleep downstairs love, are you ready to go to bed?" Rachel asked and Florrie nodded

Florrie was still very sleepy so Rachel helped Florrie change into her pyjamas before making cleaning her teeth and making sure she went to the loo.

Rachel had blown up a blow up mattress on the floor in Poppy's bedroom for Daisy and Florrie to sleep on so got Florrie comfy on there.

"Hope you sleep well Florrie, you know where I am if you want anything"

"Night Rachel"

"Night night, sleep tight"

Florrie closed her eyes so Rachel went back downstairs.

"We don't have to go to bed yet do we Mum?" Poppy asked

"No not yet"

By the end of the film Poppy and Daisy were both very tired too so Rachel decided it was time they went to sleep too.

"Right time for bed for you two now I think"

"Do we have to Mum?"

"Yes I can tell you're both shattered, you've got all day for playing tomorrow"

"What time are Mummy and Daddy coming home?"

"In the afternoon sometime"

Rachel took Poppy and Daisy upstairs.

"Florrie is fast asleep so come and get into your pyjamas in my bedroom. I'll just go and get your pyjamas"

Rachel nipped into Poppy's bedroom and got pyjamas for Poppy and Daisy before going into her bedroom.

"Right Poppy go and clean your teeth and go to the loo first" Rachel said so Poppy went off

Rachel then passed Daisy her pyjamas.

"There you go Daisy, your night time pants are there too so make sure you put those on"

Daisy was a bit embarrassed about having to wear them but knew she needed to or she'd have an accident in the bed. She quickly got changed into her pyjamas before Poppy came back in.

Rachel then sent Daisy to do her teeth and go to the loo while Poppy got changed.

Once the two of them were ready Rachel quietly put them to bed before going back downstairs.

When she came down Charlotte and Laura were downstairs ready to leave.

"Are you dropping them off or do you want me to?" Rachel asked Paul

"I'll do it"

"Thanks love"

"Have a good time girls, be sensible please"

"We will be"

"See you tomorrow"

Charlotte and Laura got a lift to Megan's house where they were going to have a few drinks before going into town.

When they got there Jess and Vicky were there already.

Rachel had let Charlotte bring a bottle of wine from home so she started drinking it straight away.

They played a drinking game and it didn't take long for Charlotte to start to feel tipsy. It was making her feel good, so much happier than she had been all week.

By the time they left to go to the club Charlotte and her friends were all drunk but Charlotte and Laura were especially bad.

Jess and Vicky were both surprised that they were actually let in when they were in the state they were.

They all went to the toilet when they got in as they were all bursting after waiting in the queue for ages. Charlotte and Laura then headed to the bar to get a drink but the other girls stopped them because they knew they shouldn't drink anymore.

Instead they went to dance. Charlotte was having such a great time.

They'd been dancing for a while when Charlotte started dancing with some guy in the club and it wasn't long before they were kissing.

Charlotte snuck off from her friends and he bought her a drink.

After more dancing and a few more drinks Charlotte the guy Charlotte had met, George who was a uni student, suggested she came back to his.

Charlotte was completely up for it so left the club with him and text the others to tell her where she'd gone.

The next morning Charlotte began to wake up. She started to look around and realised she didn't have a clue where she was. She knew she was meant to be staying at Megan's but this definitely wasn't Megan's house.

She remembered bits of last night and couldn't believe that she'd gone back to a complete stranger's house and slept with him.

She checked her phone to see loads of missed calls from her friends. She was seriously hoping none of them had told her Mum, and was glad to see she didn't have any missed calls from them.

Charlotte got out of bed as quietly as she could and tried to find all of her clothes, she needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. Her head was spinning as she had so much alcohol in her system still.

Charlotte was relieved that she'd managed to get all of her stuff together without waking him up. She just hoped she didn't bump into any of his flatmates on her way out.

She got outside of the building and wasn't really sure where she was so decided to book an Uber to take her to the station. All she wanted to do was go home but she couldn't as she needed to collect her stuff from Megan's. She didn't want to face her friends as she knew how angry they were with her.

Charlotte decided to call Laura while she waited for an Uber and couldn't help the tears that were falling down her face. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid, she felt horrible now.

Charlotte got an Uber to the station in Manchester before getting a train to Rochdale and then walking to Megan's house, luckily she didn't live too far from the station.

Although her friends were angry with her for just leaving without telling them, they all felt really bad for her and were really nice to her about what had happened.

"Did you tell my Mum?"

"No but I was going to" Jess said "we were so worried about you, but I didn't have a clue where you were and you weren't picking up your phone so I knew this would only worry your Mum so I decided to wait and if I still couldn't get hold of you this morning then I would have told her"

"I can't believe I did it, I don't know what got into me"

"You had way too much to drink"

"I know, I don't understand how at the time it seemed like such a good idea"

Charlotte got a lift from her Mum home at about 10. She was feeling absolutely awful about last night.

Rachel was parked outside so Charlotte got into the car, it was just her Mum there.

"Hi love, how was last night?"

"Good" Charlotte said but she couldn't stop herself from bursting into tears there and then

"Hey what's happened?" Rachel asked

"Sorry I'm just really tired"

Rachel wasn't convinced, but decided to not question her too much now.

"I need to nip to the supermarket for a few bits before we go home"

"Okay"

Rachel drove to Tesco.

"I'm going to wait in the car, I look a right state"

"I'll try not to be too long"

Although she said she only needed a few bits, Rachel returned to the car with two bags full of shopping.

Charlotte was incredibly tearful so Rachel was starting to get a bit worried about her.

When they pulled onto their drive Rachel turned of the engine and put her hand on Charlotte's leg supportively.

"What's happened sweetheart?"

"I told you I'm just tired, and I feel really hungover" Charlotte said which was true

"You've very tearful for someone who's just tired and hungover"

"There's nothing else, I'm fine. I think I'm going to go back to bed for a bit"

"Okay, you know where I am if you want to talk though"

"Yep"

The two of them went inside and Charlotte went straight up to her room. There was no way she could tell her Mum what had happened, she would be so ashamed of her but part of her just wanted to tell her because she just wanted her support.

Charlotte changed into pyjamas and climbed into bed and tried to go back to sleep so she could forget about it for a while. As tired as she felt, she just couldn't go to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what she'd done. She felt like such a bad person.

All Charlotte could do was cry. The tears wouldn't stop.

After about an hour Rachel came into check on her daughter.

She couldn't believe when she saw what a state Charlotte was in. Rachel closed Charlotte's bedroom door before going straight over to her.

"What on earth's happened love? And don't give me any rubbish about you just being tired, I know there's more to this"

"You'll hate me if I tell you" Charlotte sobbed

"I could never hate you sweetheart, you know that. Please tell me what's wrong"

"I- I can't"

"Whatever it is, I'll be there for you"

Charlotte couldn't keep it to herself any longer, she needed her Mum.

"I slept with someone last night"

"At the party?" Rachel asked

Charlotte just shook her head and didn't look at her Mum.

"Where were you last night then?"

"I didn't really go to a party, we went clubbing"

Rachel was shocked by this but knew it wasn't the time to get angry, so she was trying her best to remain calm.

"So who did you sleep with?"

Charlotte didn't say anything, her Mum was going to be so disappointed.

"Charlotte?"

"Someone I met in the club" Charlotte admitted

Now Rachel really was shocked, she couldn't believe her daughter had gone back with someone she didn't know. Rachel didn't really know what to say.

"Well say something then"

"I can't believe it Charlotte, do you know how stupid that is?"

"Of course I do, I feel bloody awful about it now"

"So you should, you had no idea who it was anything could have happened to you" Rachel said getting angry

"I'm sorry" Charlotte said before getting up and running into her ensuite. She was feeling bad enough, she couldn't deal with facing her Mum being angry too. She knew she shouldn't have told her.

Rachel sat on Charlotte's bed with her head in her hands. She knew she needed to calm down and be there for Charlotte, she just couldn't believe what her daughter had done.

After a couple of minutes Rachel went over to the en-suite.

"Come out please Charl, I'm sorry for reacting the way I did"

Reluctantly Charlotte unlocked the door and opened the door. Rachel put her arms out and Charlotte fell into her Mum's embrace as she sobbed. Rachel let her have a big cry.

"That's it love, have a big old cry"

After a few minutes Charlotte pulled away.

"I'm really sorry Mum"

"I know you are" Rachel said sympathetically

"We need to have a proper talk about this, do you want to talk now or a bit later?"

"May as well get it out of the way now I guess"

"Come on then, let's sit on your bed"

"I'm sure you know I'm not one bit happy about you lying to me about what you were doing last night. Why didn't you just tell me what you were doing?"

"I thought you wouldn't let me go, and I really wanted to go"

"How did you manage to get in?"

"I borrowed someone's ID"

"I can't say it's a particularly good idea, but I wouldn't have stopped you"

"Really?"

"Really, you're nearly eighteen so you're going to be going out in a few months anyway. I'm just really not happy about the fact you lied"

"I know, I'm really sorry. I promise I won't do it again"

"Make sure you don't. Even if you don't think I'm going to like what you say, I'd always prefer to just know the truth"

"Okay"

"And as for the sleeping with a stranger it was a bad choice you made, but I also know that it's not uncommon after drinking and I can't say that I've never done it"

Charlotte was really surprised at how calm her Mum was being about it now.

"I'm never doing it again, I feel horrible"

"I know how you're feeling love. You used protection didn't you?"

"Yeah we did, don't worry"

"Well at least we don't need to go and get you the morning after pill again"

"Thank god"

"Just try not to dwell on it too much. I know you regret what's happened, but it's happened now and there's nothing you can do to change it. Just try and learn from it huh? Remember how you're feeling now and hopefully you'll stop yourself if you're in the situation again"

"Yeah hopefully, I can't believe how different things seem when you're drunk"

"That's why it's so important to not drink so much you have no control over what you're doing, but I know sometimes you do just get a bit carried away and then it's too late, we've all been there"

Charlotte still felt bad about what happened and couldn't stop thinking about it but she felt a lot better after speaking to her Mum about it.

"I think we'll go for a nice walk this afternoon"

"Do we have to?"

"I just want to have a lazy day"

"Fresh air will do you the world of good, believe me"

After they finished talking Charlotte decided to have a shower and Rachel went to check on Poppy, Daisy and Florrie.

By the time Charlotte came down it was lunchtime so Rachel made bacon sandwiches for everyone.

Charlotte struggled to eat much of hers though because she was so hungover, she really was regretting drinking so much the night before.

After lunch they all went to a lake for a long walk and Charlotte had to admit it did make her feel a bit better.

By the time they got back Rebecca and Mark were back from their night away so Rachel dropped the girls home before going home and enjoying the rest of the weekend with Paul and the kids.

Please review xxx


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry I haven't updated in ages, been really busy but hoping to get back into updating more regularly now. I've had a couple of reviews saying they'd like it if Emily and Thomas also went to Waterloo Road, so I have a plan for this!**

Rachel was cleaning in the kitchen whilst Poppy was watching TV. She was still waiting for her other three children to get out of bed.

It was a Saturday and the family had a busy day coming up as Rachel and Paul had agreed to let Charlotte have a party for her 18th Birthday today.

Rachel heard someone coming down the stairs and shortly afterwards, a sleepy Emily came and sat down at the breakfast bar.

"Morning Ems"

"Morning" Emily said groggily

"Is Charlotte up yet?"

"Not yet"

"Oh I only got up because I thought she would be"

"I'm sure she'll be up soon" Rachel said as Charlotte never stayed in bed that late

"Okay, maybe I'll go back to bed for a bit"

"Actually, there's something I'd like to speak to you about"

"What?" Emily asked sounding worried

"Well there's going to be a big announcement at your school on Monday, but I wanted to tell you today because I think it would be unfair of me to let you find out at school. If I tell you though, you have to promise not to tell any of your friends"

"I promise. What is it?"

"As of September, your school is going to be merging with Waterloo Road. I couldn't believe it when I found out but there's nothing I can do about it. Now, I know you didn't want to go to the school that I work at so would you like to change school?"

"I don't want to be the new girl all over again" Emily said immediately

"Okay that's fine. So would you mind going to the same school as me?"

"I guess it would be okay"

"If you're really unhappy about it, I can try and find another job"

"No you don't have to do that. But do you promise you won't treat me differently to everyone else?"

"I promise"

"And you won't interfere?"

"I won't"

"Okay. This is going to be so weird though"

"I think it's going to be a big adjustment for everyone, but hopefully it will work out in the end"

Emily and Rachel carried on talking about it for a bit longer and it wasn't long before Charlotte came into the kitchen.

"Happy Birthday darling" Rachel said before going over to give her daughter a hug

Poppy and Emily both came to say Happy Birthday too.

"Where's Dad?"

"He's in the garden, he'll be in soon. Poppy, you can go and get Thomas out of bed now"

Poppy ran off excitedly to go and get her brother up.

Paul came back inside and Thomas eventually appeared so they sat down to give Charlotte some presents.

Rachel and Paul gave her a necklace from Tiffany's that she was very pleased with, and she had a handbag that she'd really wanted from Emily, Thomas and Poppy.

After opening some presents Rachel and Paul cooked breakfast for them all.

"Auntie Karen and Uncle Lee should be here at about 11 with the girls"

"Okay, what time are we getting our nails done?"

"Twelve thirty, and then our table is booked for two. Dad and Uncle Lee are going to stay here while we get our nails done while the men come and put up the marquee and then meet us at the restaurant"

"Okay sounds good"

After they'd had breakfast Rachel sent the kids upstairs to get ready before going to check the postbox"

There wasn't much in there but there was a parcel for Charlotte and also one for her friend Jess, which Rachel was a bit confused about.

Rachel was curious so took it straight up to Charlotte and gave it to her daughter.

Charlotte immediately panicked when she saw what her Mum was holding. A few days ago she and Jess had ordered a chlamydia test and Charlotte had been hoping to get it before her Mum found out.

"Thanks" Charlotte said before putting the two tests down on her bed

"Aren't you going to open it?"

"I will in a minute"

"How come Jess had one delivered here too? Do you know what it is?"

Charlotte sighed, realising she was just going to have to tell her Mum

"We ordered chlamydia tests" Charlotte told her Mum

"Did you have to pay for them?"

"No they were free"

"Okay, but why do you think you need to do a chlamydia test?"

"It's just good to check these things isn't it"

Rachel went and shut Charlotte's bedroom door as this wasn't a conversation she wanted to be overheard.

"When did you last have sex?"

Charlotte sighed, knowing her Mum was about to ask her a million questions.

"Last weekend at a party"

"And before that?"

"You know about the time before that, the boy I met in the club"

"Did you not use protection last weekend?" Rachel asked to which Charlotte shook her head

"This really isn't a good habit to be getting into Charlotte"

"I know, I'm sorry. I know it's stupid but I got upset because Harry was there with his new girlfriend and then Tom was comforting me and then it just happened" Charlotte said as tears formed in her eyes

"Oh love, please don't cry. Let's talk about this another day. I don't want you to be upset on your Birthday"

"Okay"

"Don't do the chlamydia test though. It's best you get tested at the doctor's and then they can check for everything, not just chlamydia"

"That will be so embarrassing"

"You did an irresponsible thing so now you need to face up to that"

"Okay, fine"

"But anyway, let's get back to enjoying your Birthday"

Charlotte went for a shower so Rachel went to do a bit more for the party. Most things were sorted now, but Rachel didn't want to be stressed trying to sort things when they got back from the meal.

Rachel looked at the time and realised that Karen and Lee would be arriving soon, so went upstairs to do her hair and makeup.

After she'd done her hair and makeup she went to do Poppy's hair for her.

"Oh love come here, you're all twisted" Rachel said after looking at Poppy "you look very pretty in that dress though"

"Thank you"

Rachel sorted Poppy out before doing her hair.

"Have you cleaned your teeth?"

"No"

"Okay, do them now. I'll come and help to make sure you don't get tooth paste down your dress"

After Poppy had cleaned her teeth Rachel heard Karen and Lee coming through the door so went straight downstairs.

It had been a little while since they'd seen each other, so they were all looking forward to catching up.

After unloading the car, Karen and Lee sat down with Rachel and Paul for a cup of tea and Ellie and Olivia went upstairs.

Ellie was in Charlotte's bedroom with her.

"What are you wearing tonight?" Ellie asked

"I'll show you"

Charlotte went into her wardrobe and pulled out a red dress and showed her cousin.

"That's gorgeous, you're going to look amazing"

"Thank you. What are you wearing?"

"I haven't decided yet, I need you to help me"

Ellie tried on the two outfits that she'd packed for Charlotte but in the end decided to borrow one of Charlotte's dresses that she loved.

Ellie and Charlotte sat and talked for a while as they both had a lot to tell each other about. They really missed living so close.

The girls were still in the middle of talking when Rachel called up saying they needed to leave in ten minutes.

Charlotte quickly finished getting ready before going downstairs with Ellie.

Poppy and Thomas stayed at home with Paul and Lee, and the others headed into town to get their nails done.

Charlotte was having such a nice Birthday so far. She loved spending time with her family and was really looking forward to partying with her friends later.

"Do I have time to get my eyebrows done while we're here too Mum?" Charlotte asked

"Yeah you should do"

Rachel really enjoyed sitting down and relaxing whilst having her nails done for a bit. She'd had a very busy week getting everything ready for the party tonight.

After having their nails done they went to a posh restaurant for lunch before heading home to get ready for the party.

Charlotte and Olivia went straight up to Charlotte's bedroom.

The girls both took off the makeup they'd had on in the day and then Charlotte did Ellie's makeup for her. She was in the middle of doing it when Emily came in.

"Charl please will you do my makeup for me?"

"I don't really have time, can you ask Mum?"

"Okay"

Charlotte could tell Emily was disappointed and she did feel bad but she didn't want to be rushing to get ready herself.

Once Charlotte had done Ellie's makeup, she got started on her own.

When Ellie and Charlotte were both ready they went down to look in the marquee which looked really good.

"You two look gorgeous" Rachel said when she saw them

Rachel popped open a bottle of champagne that she'd bought for today and poured a glass for everyone.

"Well that didn't go very far" Rachel said as she held the empty bottle of champagne

"Happy Birthday Charl" Paul said making a toast

"That tastes so good" Charlotte said after taking a sip

It wasn't long before Charlotte's friends started arriving.

There were some adults coming to the party too, but the plan was for them to stay in the marquee for a bit and then leave Charlotte and her friends to it later on.

Rachel was a bit shocked by the amount of alcohol people were turning up with, but decided to just turn a blind eye. She really hoped it wasn't going to be a messy night though.

The first couple of hours had been really nice, but Charlotte's friends were starting to get quite drunk now so Rachel decided now was a good time to leave them to it.

Charlotte noticed that Ellie was probably drinking too much so went to get her a glass of water.

"Here you go Els"

Ellie took a sip but then realised it was water so gave it straight back.

"Drink it"

"No, I need a wee" Ellie said before running off

Ellie went inside and went to the toilet before going over to the adults in the lounge.

She went straight over to Rachel and wrapped her arms around her

"I love you Auntie Rachel"

"I love you too sweetheart. Are you having a good time at the party?"

"Yeah it's so much fun. Charlotte just gave me a glass of water but that's boring"

"Maybe you should have a glass of water Els" Karen said realising that her daughter was very drunk

"No I'm going back outside now"

"Okay, I'm going to come out and see you soon"

Ellie rushed off and started talking to one of Charlotte's friends that she'd been talking to quite a lot tonight.

It wasn't long before Ellie started kissing him which didn't go unnoticed by Charlotte.

After a little while Karen and Rachel wandered outside to check on things.

Everyone seemed to be behaving fairly sensible, but Karen wanted to try and stop Ellie from drinking anymore.

Charlotte spotted her Mum and Auntie so came over to them.

"Come dance with us"

"No, we were just coming out to check you were all okay" Rachel said

"We're fine, Ellie's very drunk though"

"A bit like you then" Karen said laughing realising that her niece was also quite drunk now

"Maybe a little bit" Charlotte said before rushing off again

Karen gave a glass of water to Ellie which she did drink this time, before going inside again.

"I need to keep an eye on Charlotte tonight" Rachel said as they walked back into the house "since she broke up with Harry she's slept with a couple of boys after drinking and it's really not something I want her getting into"

"Did the break up with Harry affect her much?"

"Yeah she was devastated, still is I think. Harry has a new girlfriend too which definitely isn't helping"

"Poor Charl. Harry seemed so nice too"

"I thought so too, I don't know what happened with him"

After another hour Ellie was in quite a state so Karen came and took her to bed. Charlotte was very drunk, but not too bad so Rachel left her to it as it looked like she was having a really fun night.

Charlotte woke up in bed next to Ellie the next morning, and couldn't really remember going to bed. She hoped she hadn't done anything embarrassing.

She looked on the floor and saw a couple of her friends sleeping, so quietly got out of bed before going downstairs.

Rachel was sat drinking a coffee with Karen.

"Morning love, do you want a coffee?"

"No I think I'll just stick to water thanks"

Charlotte got some paracetamol out of the cupboard before sitting down with her Mum and Auntie.

"Did you have a good time last night?"

"Yeah it was so much fun, thanks for letting me have the party Mum"

"You're very welcome"

"When are you off to Ibiza then?" Karen asked as Charlotte was going on holiday with her friends

"Wednesday, I'm so excited"

"I bet. I can remember my first girls holiday, we had so much fun"

Ellie and Charlotte were both feeling quite hungover, but they still managed to have a nice day together.


End file.
